Everything Snowballs
by Akaiyuki-Tenshi
Summary: 17-yr-old Danny Fenton's parents drag him along when they're invited to speak at the Stark Expo in New York, and he ends up meeting Tony Stark. From there, he learns a bit more about engineering and spends a week enjoying Tony's company. Danny goes back to Amity Park with his parents, Nick Fury shows up and wants to know about a certain teenager. Adopted by TheSilentFury!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - This is an Avengers/Danny Phantom crossover. Phantom Planet didn't happen, Danny still hasn't told his parents his secret, and this happens shortly after the events of the Avengers movie.**

 **There is a poll on my page to decide who Danny is paired with! Go vote, you have until the fifth chapter is published. (At that point, I need to know.)**

* * *

Chapter One

Road Trip

Danny scratched the back of his neck nervously. His parents had been invited to participate in Stark Expo, and he had been dragged along by his over enthusiastic father yet again. His mother thought that he'd be fine to stay home alone, being nearly eighteen, but Jack had wanted the teen to learn more about inventing and engineering.

"I don't get why I couldn't just stay home and take online courses or something," he complained. "I _really_ don't need to go to some big tech expo. Remember what happened last time you took me to something like this?"

Maddie chuckled. "Aw, sweetie, don't worry! Your father and I only have to be there for a week, after all. I highly doubt that they have anything you need to worry about. Just try to stay away from the more dangerous exhibits, alright? I know how clumsy you are."

The raven-haired teen groaned. "Thanks, Mom. Really feeling the love."

"Dann-o, you know your mother didn't mean it like that! You're enthusiastic, just like your old man!" Jack boomed happily, ever the excitable puppy. "Besides, if you really want to, you can just hang out in the hotel room or go to boring lectures!"

Not for the first time did Danny wonder if his father had a lower setting than _loud_. He gave his father a weak grin and nodded, trying to think of things he could do at the Stark Expo. It _sounded_ interesting enough, but with his grades (still suffering from constant ghost attacks), he didn't know if he'd understand any of the technical talk.

Little did his parents know, their son enjoyed tinkering with some of their older, more obsolete ghost inventions. Danny didn't _really_ know what he was doing, he couldn't explain what he did to Sam and Tucker, but he had inherited the Fenton family talent of inventing. His more compact, sleeker Fenton Thermos was a huge help in ghost fights, and it was more easily hideable on his person. He had also remodeled some old ecto-wristrays for Sam and Tucker so they were more powerful.

Danny just... didn't know any technical terms. The little he knew had come from his parents' occasional explanations of their ghost hunting tech. He thought that the devices and plans themselves would be really cool to see, but the teen just knew that the lectures would do absolutely nothing for him.

After another few hours of driving, Danny gave in to his boredom and started fiddling with the tech his parents had laying around in the back of the GAV. Why they felt it necessary to drive that monstrosity, he would never understand.

It would take the entire day, and a good chunk of the night, to get to New York from Minnesota. In all that time, Danny barely had anything to do. He had a couple snacks, a bottle of water, a Shakespeare book for English class, and his Fenton Thermos. Not the old one, but the sleek, almost unrecognizable redesigned one. The raven-haired boy had spent an hour scribbling notes from his latest Ghost Zone history lesson with Clockwork on a spare piece of paper his parents had lying around. He daydreamed about living with his cousin Dani and his best friends, fighting ghosts together, having snowball fights with the yetis from the Far Frozen. He thought about everything that had happened to him since he went into the portal and half died, three years ago. So much had changed over three short years.

The biggest change was the probation of his evil future self. Dark Dan had been released from his prison by Clockwork after about a year, and given two options. If Dan behaved and was helpful (good just didn't fit the ghost), he would get more freedoms as time passed, and allowed to be his own ghost, eventually. He could not cause mass destruction or terror, and had to do tasks and the occasional favor for the Ghost of Time

If Dan decided to go against Clockwork's wishes, he would be deleted. _Permanently_. He had the chance to change, and though Danny was wary at first, Dan actually began to heal from the accident that didn't happen in their timeline. He would never get his humanity back, he had burned that bridge, but he was less of a jerk most of the time, and much less violent and evil. The halfa teen had actually become more comfortable around his evil future self.

Danny chuckled to himself at that thought. " _Dan is actually really protective of our friends and family. I'm just glad he didn't end up with Vlad's obsession with my/our mom. That would've been a whole 'nother level of creepy fruitloop,"_ he reflected.

Now, if only they could magically appear at their destination. That would be perfect.

* * *

Danny was shaken roughly by a particularly large pothole. Stretching, he rubbed his eyes tiredly. The teen couldn't remember when he had fallen asleep, but he was glad he'd managed it. The sky was dark, it was night, which meant that they must be nearly there.

"Danny? You awake, sweetie?" he heard his mom ask.

Danny mumbled a bit, but he worked out a full sentence. "Yeah. How long t-til we get there?" he yawned. His hair was sticking up in odd places, and with that dazed expression, he looked just like a little kid again, and Maddie wanted to get up and hug the stuffing out of him.

"Just half an hour, Dann-o," his dad exclaimed, a little less enthusiastic than when they began the trip. Apparently, even _he_ suffered from exhaustion sometimes. There was just something about road trips that drained a person.

Danny perked up at the answer. "Really? Awesome," he commented. Once he got to the hotel, he could call Sam and Tucker and make sure they were okay. And find something to do. He was _bored_. Again. And he had just woken up.

An hour later, the three had all been checked in, given room keys, and treated to a nice dinner, courtesy of Stark Industries, who was paying for their hotel room. Danny had to admit that the dinner was a very nice touch, and almost made the road trip worth it. He hadn't had such a nice human-made meal in _ages_ , since his mother often made their food come alive, and his father just didn't cook.

In fact, the last time he had such a nice meal was when Vlad held a Christmas Truce party in his mansion last year. Vlad had his chefs prepare a mix of human and ghost delicacies, and the few ghosts who received invitations greatly enjoyed the three-course meal.

So, Danny was very contented, sleepy, and only slightly worried about his friends' well-being back in Amity Park. He couldn't really help worrying. He knew Sam and Tucker would probably be perfectly fine, what with their years of experience helping him fight. He knew they would call if they had a problem they couldn't beat. His hero complex just wouldn't let him rest, in the end. He _needed_ to call them.

Sadly, he had to wait another hour before his parents decided to go try the hot tub and pool. While he would have liked to swim, he didn't want them asking question about all of the scars that littered his body, and it created the perfect opportunity for a potentially long phone call involving ghosts and his alter ego.

He hurriedly changed into his sleepwear and pulled out his cell, a sleek, newer model the fruitloop had gotten him for his seventeenth birthday. Always suspicious of the billionaire's intentions, Danny had completely dismantled and reassembled it before he was satisfied it was just a normal, un-bugged phone. Then, he had given a very confused fruitloop a big hug.

" _Sam Manson speaking,"_ a feminine voice drawled.

Danny grinned and greeted her with a, "Hey, goth girl."

" _Ghost boy!_ " she cheered. " _I was wondering how long it'd take before you called us. I take it that you've gotten to your hotel by now? It's pretty late."_

"Yeah," he replied, still smiling. "I fell asleep about four hours in, and slept nearly the whole trip, so I'm not that tired. I think that's actually the longest continuous sleep I've gotten in... months. Wow."

He heard a snort from Sam. " _Well, that means I win the bet. Tucker thought you'd call before you got to the hotel, and I thought you'd call from the room. How's it look, Danny?"_

Danny glanced around. "Pretty nice, actually. Stark Industries is paying for it, and they didn't skimp on _anything_. It's a two-bedroom suite with a bath, a kitchenette, and a small living room. I still can't believe I get an actual bed. I thought I was gonna have to ask for a roll-away or pull out the couch bed or something."

" _Well, Stark Ind. does treat its guests well. Most people think that's Ms. Potts, the current CEO's influence. I kinda doubt it, though. She seems nice, but that's just one of those things too far outside of her sphere of attention. I'd bet anything that it was something Tony Stark recommended. He acts like a dick, but he's actually really funny._ "

"How do you know that?" Danny asked, before remembering her background.

" _Rich people benefits. I went to a few in the Twin Cities, and he was at a couple of them. We talked once, not much to say. Very flirty, very snarky. He strikes me as your type of guy, actually. Engineering genius,_ " she replied casually.

Danny read between the lines and blushed. "Hey, just because I'm bi doesn't mean that I'm looking for a partner. I'd rather stick to people who _wouldn't_ make me look stupid, thanks."

He heard a harsh sigh from Sam's end, and rolled his eyes. "Besides," he continued, "I'm not all that interested in men nearly three decades older than me, Sam. Even if they are cute and snarky." He paused to take a deep breath. "Alright, so, how are you and Tucker doing?"

" _Ah, but that means you_ are _interested,"_ Sam replied playfully. "We're doing fine, really. Clockwork sent your evil future self to help out, in case we run into anything we can't handle ourselves. It's been a nice... bonding session, I guess."

The halfa let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Remind me to thank Clockwork when I get back, okay? Just make sure Dan doesn't go off and torment the A-Listers anymore. Remember the last time we let him have free reign around town? He might not be evil, but he's still a jerk sometimes."

There was a very indignant shout from the other end of the line. " _Oops. Guess he heard that. Don't worry, I'll keep Dan on a short leash. Jazz is coming to visit on Wednesday, too, so she can work on his mental state some more."_

"Alright, say hi to Tucker and Dan and Jazz for me, then," he laughed. "Bye."

" _Bye, ghost boy. See you when you get back,_ " Sam replied, hanging up.

Danny tucked his phone back in his pocket and ran a hand through his thick, black hair, which was _still_ sticking up in odd places. He needed a shower, and preferably _before_ his parents came back from their short jaunt to the pool.

This trip was already off to a better start than he anticipated. He just hoped it would stay like that.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter, it makes my job easier. Now, a few of you were concerned that I would "make Danny gay", when I had already stated he was attracted to both men** _ **and**_ **women. Yes, there was a possibility (high) of a male/male ship, but I've decided that I'm not going to have Danny paired with anyone. At least, not until the very end. This story doesn't focus on romance, anyway. ^u^**

 **Unless it's an overwhelming majority on the poll on my profile, Danny will not be shipped with** _ **anyone**_ **. I don't like the Danny/Sam pairing, and there's no other boy/girl pairing I'd write right now.** _ **Thank you for your patience!**_

* * *

Chapter Two

Exploring the Expo

Danny couldn't keep the grin off his face as they pulled into the parking lot near where his parents would be lecturing. Everything looked so modern, very futuristic with sleek designs, plenty of chrome, and advanced gadgets. The child in him desperately wanted to run off at top speed and explore as much as he could.

"Alright, sweetie," his mom said, turning to him, "we're going to be giving lectures all day, with only a brief break for lunch. I doubt you want to be stuck in a stuffy room with a bunch of scientists for hours, so I'm going to let you wander around on your own. You're certainly old enough to."

Danny nodded. "I've got my cell phone, and my wallet. Do you want me to come back here by any specific time? I can always call a cab to get back to the hotel."

Maddie shook her head. "No, it's better if you come back around five. We're going to a formal dinner party tonight, that's why I had you pack your suit. It starts at seven, so that leaves us two hours to get ready and get there." She pulled out a few twenty dollar bills and handed them to her son. "Use this for food or admission to a couple places that catch your eye."

Danny smiled and gave her a quick hug, carefully relaxing his muscles to avoid giving anything away. His mom didn't know about his more athletic physique, and he wanted to keep it that way. Sparring matches with her were bound to end badly, one way or another.

"Thanks, Mom. I'll be back around five, then," he replied cheerfully.

As he began to wander, Danny realized he had no idea what to do there. There were so many cool things, so many interesting exhibits. Hell, there was even a designated area for space-faring tech! As soon as he checked a map to find out where NASA's exhibits were located, he sped off. He was going to enjoy his time at Stark Expo. He just knew it.

* * *

Somehow, he had completely exhausted himself in the flight simulation machines NASA had set up for children and teenagers. Danny knew he must have spent well over an hour in the simulator for zero gravity. It was just so similar to his flight that he couldn't help himself. The only difference was that he couldn't propel himself without pushing off a wall or another object.

Clueless he was not. At least, not any more, that nickname had died over the three years since he had become a halfa and since he began exploring his sexuality. Therefore, the teenager had noticed the surprised looks some of the staff had when he exited the simulator. He briefly considered giving them his contact information, but shook his head sadly and walked away. The chances of him becoming an astronaut had evaporated when he became half-ghost.

It really did hit home sometimes that he was half-dead, and in those times, he'd struggle with a sense of being _other_ , or _wrong_. Being a halfa meant going against nature, somehow. Nothing should be both alive _and_ dead at the same time. His death bled through to his human form, and his life bled through to his ghost form. More often than not, he would be stitching up a gash and get his hands covered in green-and-red fluid, blood and ectoplasm mixing.

So, he just sighed and walked away. There was nothing he could do about it, NASA wouldn't take him even if he _did_ get his grades up. He'd automatically fail any physical health exam they gave him, and would probably fail most mental health exams, too.

The thought of Jazz psychoanalyzing the doctor who was meant to be psychoanalyzing him was actually pretty funny, though. Danny grinned and glanced around, scanning the area for any interesting things. There was a... robot-building contest, Tucker would've enjoyed that. And to the left, some company was giving a demonstration of their hovercraft, not that the thing would be even remotely street-legal anytime soon.

Maybe he'd enter the robot-building contest, just for kicks. It wasn't like he could program it, but experience building one might get him points with his friend, and they could work together on one when Danny got back to Amity.

Taking a deep breath, Danny decided to try it out and enjoy himself. Building was his thing, even if he didn't know any technical terms. A robot couldn't be that hard to build, right?

* * *

He was wrong. So horribly, terribly wrong. It wasn't that the robot was _hard_ to build. It was that the rules and guidelines confused the crap out of him. He _didn't know any technical terms_ , so he had no idea what was against the rules, aside from not making his robot dangerous. He had no clue what not to do.

He sat there for the first ten minutes, just staring at the rules and then at his parts, and then back at the rules again. When someone finally came over and asked him what was wrong, he let out a breathy sigh and scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit.

"I-I don't know any of this," he admitted, waving his hand at the rules. "I can't tell what I'm not allowed to do, besides make a dangerous robot." He tugged lightly on a lock of hair and bit his lip, still looking between his parts and the rule list.

The judge who had come over to ask what was wrong blinked a few times, then let out a harsh laugh. "Alright, _kid_ , since you don't seem to know anything, just do whatever you want. We'll tell you what's wrong when everyone's done," he drawled condescendingly.

Danny pushed the initial anger at being treated like he was stupid down. It wasn't like it didn't happen at school every day, he could handle this. "Cool, thanks. I don't know how to program, though. I'm just good at building tech. If someone wants to, they could program my robot for me," he replied politely, extending an offer to the rest of the contestants.

The judge narrowed his eyes and sneered. "Fine, but you just agreed to share the credit of whatever you make with a random stranger. Will that be okay with you, _kid_?"

Danny just gritted his teeth and nodded in silence. When the jerk left, the raven-haired teen began to assemble his robot. He thought of Technus and Skulker, of what their tech could do, of how versatile it was without necessarily being _dangerous_. Skulker's suit was a robotic marvel that he and Tucker had managed to study briefly.

He wanted to make something nice. He thought of Cujo and Vlad's cat, Maddie (who apparently liked his company). An idea popped into his head. There were so many kids who couldn't have a pet because they were, or some they lived with was, allergic. If he were to make a cat, it would require more fine-tuning than he had time for, so he went with a dog.

Danny modeled it after Cujo's puppy form, being more familiar with that than any living canine, and started to assemble the pieces. The participants had two hours to build something functional, and that was all Danny really needed for a simple, functional frame.

He had just finished tightening the last screw on one of the legs when he felt the presence of someone behind him. It wasn't threatening, or malevolent, that he could sense from a distance now, so he just grabbed his "blueprints" (more like a general shape and the original purpose of the robot) and thrust it over his shoulder.

"Are you the programmer they sent? Sorry I couldn't make _actual_ blueprints, but you get the gist of it, right?" Danny commented, not taking his eyes off his work. Another leg was finished and he reached out to his pile of components only to have the parts he needed next pushed closer. "Thanks. You can decide what you want the dog to do. Heck, you can even name it if you like. I've never been good at naming things."

"Alright," came a smooth, masculine voice. There was a hint of warm amusement in his tone that made the teen relax a bit more. "Its basic functions are walking and... standing, huh? Just a simple dog?"

Danny nodded. "I couldn't do anything complicated in two hours, and I didn't know if the programmer they were gonna send me would be any good, so I kept it simple. Besides, I don't have much experience building robots. Containment devices and alternate-energy-sourced weapons are my strong points," he explained.

The man he had yet to actually see let out a chuckle and commented, "Well, I'm a pretty damn good programmer. Made my own A.I. when I was younger than you, so I can do as complicated or simple as you want. Y'know, we could probably make it do a backflip, if you wanted. Just to add a little excitement to the whole thing. Hm... what do you think about the name Clint? Or Bruce. Thor is pretty good, too. Oh, oh, or how about Steve?"

The blue-eyed teen let out a happy chuckle. "Steve is a little odd for a dog, don't you think? Thor is a name I'd actually expect a dog to have, out of all the names you listed. But really, Bruce? Clint? Maybe I really _should_ name it."

"Fine." Danny could almost _feel_ the pout he knew the man had on his face. "How about Rover? Spot? Or maybe Fido, that's a really good one."

"No, no, those are so... _unoriginal_." Danny sighed, and mumbled, "Great, now I sound like Sam..." Then, louder, "How about Chronos? Titan of time." For some reason, Clockwork had popped into his head when he was thinking about names, and he couldn't get him out.

The man laughed. "Sure, why not? Robots don't age and die like humans do, and you could add a clock to the thing somewhere."

Danny chuckled and went back to his work. By the end of the two hours, both teammates had done their parts, and turned to talk face-to-face.

The man who had coded for him had short, dark brown-black hair and blue eyes. He also had a little goatee and his hair was artistically styled to look messy. He had a nice suit on, with a deep blue tie that offset the outfit nicely. There were wrinkles in the corners of his eyes from smiling, and he gave off a relaxed and playful feeling.

Danny extended his hand with a shy smile. "Thanks for doing the coding. Danny Fenton."

The man shook his hand firmly, but didn't use one of the death grips the teen was familiar with, and for that, he was thankful. "Tony Stark. No problem, kid."

Danny scowled. "Please, don't call me kid. I'm turning eighteen in a couple months, and I'm just sick of it," he asked, glaring at the ground. He really _was_ sick of it. All of the ghosts he fought called him a variation of 'kid'. 'Dipstick', 'ghost child', 'little badger', and on the list went. He really was tired of it, but he didn't need to take it out on Tony.

Tony... Tony... where had he heard that name before? " _Oh. Oh. Tony Stark. Stark Expo. His company invited my parents to come speak. Sam has talked to this guy before. Oh,"_ Danny thought suddenly. He knew who the man was, now.

"Did... did you actually come up to me to help?" He was worried he had overstepped his boundaries by making that assumption. Wow, no wonder his friends still called him 'clueless'. He had basically roped a billionaire into a lame robotics competition and bossed him around. If he made this guy mad, he could probably get his company to pull their support and no longer let his parents lecture at the Expo. Man, did he fuck up.

Tony shrugged. "Not really." The teen winced, and Tony continued on. "I was bored, though, and you were the only one whose robot looked even remotely interesting. I _did_ say it was no problem. Heck, I'd probably even do it again. It was fun."

Danny blushed and ducked his head. "Still, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you involved, I just didn't know the first thing about programming, and I sensed someone behind me, and you didn't feel threatening or anything, so I just assumed-"

"Wait," Tony interrupted. "You _sensed_ me?"

Danny's expression froze and he let his hands drop to his sides. Slowly, hesitantly, he explained, "Yes. It's an ability anyone can develop, really... it has to do with hearing, sensitivity to pressure, and the awareness of your surroundings. Have you ever seen a person react to your presence before you make yourself known? Anyone can train that feeling, if they try."

The billionaire's eyes narrowed in curiosity, and he considered what the young man had said. It sounded true enough, and it was certainly a skill Natasha and Clint had perfected. The only issue with the explanation was that Clint was hard of hearing, and often needed hearing aids to make sense of what anyone was saying, if they weren't facing him. A skilled lip reader he may be, but that required lips to read.

"Hey," he mused aloud, "do you have anywhere you need to be?"

Danny blinked a few times and mutely shook his head. Recovering from the sudden change of subject, he cleared his throat. "Not until five o'clock. My parents and I are apparently attending a dinner party this evening, and they wanted to meet up with me so we could all get back to the hotel and get ready."

Tony pulled out his phone, checked his schedule, and checked out the surname 'Fenton' in relation to Stark Expo. "Are your parents the... paranormal scientists and inventors giving lectures on ghosts and... _ectotechnology?_ " he asked, a little confused.

Ducking his head to hide an embarrassed blush, Danny replied, "Yeah. They were invited here to speak about their _unusual_ field of study by your company." He hated that his parents' interest (read: obsession) in ghosts managed to always come up in conversation with complete strangers. It made everything awkward.

Tony visibly processed the information he had just gained, and then beamed at the teen with a dazzling grin. "Great! That means you can accompany me back to Stark Tower! I want to talk to you about your engineering skills, I can tell you're talented, but from what you said, you don't have any formal training, do you? It's a sad waste of potential, Danny, and you seem like a fun person. I can even show you my workshop if you like!"

The babbling genius gently grabbed Danny's upper arm and began guiding him towards one of the Expo's entrances. The poor teenager was barely able to process what had just happened before he was herded into an expensive sports car and driven away from the Expo.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - Thanks for all the reviews! It makes this story easier to write, knowing what you guys think, and it helps me improve, too. I'm not planning on expanding the story to cover Age of Ultron, though I might eventually do that if I feel up to writing a sequel when this story is done, but that's probably months down the road. -_-"**

 **Thanks again! I'll try updating once every day/every other day from here on out. Please review if you can.**

* * *

Chapter Three

Too Many Slip-ups

Danny wasn't really sure how to react to Tony basically kidnapping him. He knew that the eccentric genius meant well. At least, the teen was _pretty_ sure he did. That didn't stop him from being incredibly nervous about what would happen when they _got_ to the place.

He wasn't stupid, and he didn't live under a rock, though it was a pretty close thing. He knew who the Avengers were, and that Tony was a part of that team. He also knew, from constant media coverage that was incredibly hard to avoid seeing, that most of the Avengers stayed in Stark Tower. The media was even calling the skyscraper Tony designed the 'Avengers Tower' instead. So, he was understandably nervous.

Also, what the raven-haired boy had mentioned earlier about sensing Tony's presence was something he was still regretting. Danny was entirely certain that ability _hadn't_ come from his ghost half, merely from practice and dangerous situations in which sensing where a person was had been the line between life and death, but he knew normal people didn't develop an ability like that. There was a chance he could play it off as having dangerous weapons around the house and a father with terrible aim, but if he was meeting the Black Widow or someone a little more observant than Tony, they'd call his bluff immediately.

"Tony," he called, "are you _sure_ this is a good idea?"

The billionaire just laughed, and that in-and-of-itself was an answer. Danny buried his head in his hands and groaned. Why was he cursed with insane adults taking a liking to him? He even had this problem with ghosts! Plasmius, Clockwork, and other seemingly-unstable ghosts tended to gravitate towards him and his company.

"Can I at least take a moment to call my parents when we get there?" he asked, not really believing he'd get an answer. He was surprised when Tony looked mildly uncomfortable, and stared at the billionaire questioningly.

"I did kinda kidnap you, didn't I?" he asked in reply.

Danny shrugged, and glanced over at the man who was riding in the back. He had a feeling the man was a chauffeur or bodyguard or something. "No big deal, it's not like I'm not used to... it..." he commented, before he really thought about what he was going to say. Open mouth, insert foot. The blue-eyed teen sunk as far down into his seat as he could.

Tony gaped at him for a full five seconds until they nearly crashed. "Um, k- I mean, Danny? Being... kidnapped... isn't exactly normal, unless you're a friend of mine..." he mentioned, almost casually. His tone belied the uncomfortable stiffness expressed on his face, and Danny just wished he could disappear. Three years of keeping his secret locked up tight, and he had barely known this man for three _hours_ and he was nearly giving himself away.

"I... don't have a believable explanation for that," he admitted, shrugging. The damage was already done, and the teen would bet money on Tony either holding an interrogation or researching him extensively.

Tony nodded slowly, jaw working as he thought, eyes glued to the road. "Believable explanation, or believable lie?" he stated, not really a question.

"..." Danny knew the answer was yes to both, but he didn't really want to give any more hints than he already had. So, he wisely kept his mouth shut for the short remainder of their drive to Stark Tower.

* * *

Meanwhile, JARVIS was already researching Daniel Fenton. Tony liked to do thorough background checks. On everyone and everything he came into contact with. JARVIS was actually programmed to run a basic check on everyone Tony took an interest in, be it professional or not. Therefore, the A.I. had already been researching the teenager from the moment Danny had given his name.

When Tony and Danny reached their destination, JARVIS was already compiling the information he'd gathered into a report. It wasn't as much as he would normally find, but what he did get was fairly telling. Either Daniel Fenton was involved in the underground, or there was some other, more inexplicable thing going on. As soon as Daniel was distracted, the A.I. would give the information to Tony to look over and decide what to do.

And that was exactly what happened when Danny made the call to his parents and left a message on their phones about being with Tony and the fact that the billionaire was attending the same dinner party they were.

Tony didn't know what to make of the info JARVIS had dug up. Danny's parents were close friends with a rival of his, Vlad Masters, and it appeared that Danny _had_ been kidnapped a number of times over the past three years. He also discovered that ghosts existed, and more often than not attacked Amity Park, Minnesota. Those weren't the only interesting things going on with the high school senior, though. His grades were very low for an incredibly intelligent boy, and his attendance had more holes than Natasha's firearms practice targets.

He honestly didn't know how to react. He was almost never speechless, but he couldn't look at that teenager in the same way again, there were things that didn't make sense about him, and based on what JARVIS had scrounged up, the poor kid had been through a lot.

So, when Danny walked over to him, he did the only thing he could do, and invited him up to the Avengers' shared living room for some snacks and video games. Autopilot was so helpful, sometimes.

* * *

Danny saw the tablet in Tony's hands and the pale expression on the billionaire's face, and knew that he saw the records from Amity Park. The halfa wasn't sure how many times he had officially gone "missing" for over a day, without explanation, but it was a fair number, and it had only been growing since ghosts started kidnapping him or his friends.

The halfa was actually prepared to pull a disappearing act before Tony had stiffly invited him upstairs to play video games. Danny realized that he just needed time to process the information, whatever he had read, and calmly accepted. He flashed a warm smile at the genius and watched a little bit of the tension melt away. At least he still had that effect on people.

The elevator trip up was very quiet, and Danny occupied himself by eagerly examining the New York City skyline. It really was an amazing view, and he hadn't gotten the chance to fly over the city yet. It was on his to-do list for the week, right up there with making sure that there weren't any natural ghost portals that could be a danger to humans.

Danny silently hoped that no one would be up in the common area, but with his luck, he was entirely prepared for the entire Avengers team to be gathered together in that room with the sole purpose of interrogating the new kid.

Hey, pessimism meant he could be pleasantly surprised, or right. Any boy, did he hope he was pleasantly surprised this time.

* * *

Pleasantly surprised it was. When the elevator doors opened, a dazed Tony lead the way to one of the large, comfy-looking couches in front of a giant flatscreen with all of the latest gaming systems. There was already a tall, muscular blond man sitting there, and the teen recognized him as Captain America. It looked like he was watching... the history channel. Huh, Danny wouldn't have pegged him as being interested in world history.

Tony mumbled a brief hello and sat Danny down on the couch next to the Captain. "You can play whatever you want, or watch what the Cap's watching. I'll be back in a minute. I need to get... snacks..." he stated.

After Tony shuffled away, the raven-haired teen let out a long sigh. He turned to see the blond man staring at him curiously, and offered his hand.

"Danny Fenton. Tony helped me in a robotics competition, then sort of almost kidnapped me here. Not that I mind, I didn't really have anything better to do," he drawled, smiling. "Nice to meet you, Captain."

The man gave him a hesitant smile in return. "Captain Steve Rogers. You can call me Steve, if you like. Do you know why he's so..."

"Out of it?" Danny finished, rolling his eyes. "He may or may not have discovered part of my life story in the past half-hour. Our town's criminals are a little... unconventional, to say the least. I've experienced a lot over the past three years."

Steve nodded slowly, and asked, "Unconventional? What do you mean?"

The teen shrugged. "Ghosts, mostly. No one really does anything worse than stealing or drugs, these days. There's just too much chaos to bother," he answered, leaning back. He was right, the couch _was_ comfy. Maybe he could take a nap, later.

"Ghosts? As in, a dead person's soul?" the first Avenger repeated, trying to wrap his head around the concept of those sorts of beings actually existing. First aliens, now ghosts. What was next? Vampires? Werewolves? Steve groaned.

Danny nodded sagely. "It's not as much of a problem as you'd expect, but the town has had some major crises over the past three years. One time, the entire town got sucked into an alternate dimension known as the 'Ghost Zone'."

Steve just gave up attempting to make sense of ghosts and buried his face in his hands. "How? How is the future so... _weird?_ " he whined. Danny just patted him consolingly on the shoulder and smiled.

"Believe me, this isn't weird. I've seen what future ten years from now can look like, and this is pretty simple. Except for the aliens, I guess. I didn't see _that_ coming." The teen frowned, crossing his arms.

Tony came back just then, looking infinitely better than before. He had a carton of fresh blueberries, a couple bags of chips, and a plate of pizza rolls. Danny wondered how he had time to make the pizza rolls when he was still sorting through the distress of learning what Danny's human life was like, but maybe Tony's autopilot was better than he gave him credit for.

"Squirt, you and your town need help. Like, _major_ help," he commented.

He rolled his blue eyes. "We're fine, thanks for asking. How's learning my life story going for you? Don't tell me you _didn't_ research my background, because I know you did. After that comment I accidentally made on the way here..."

Tony nodded and frowned. "You've got a lot going on. Where do you go when you skip school? Nobody's been able to figure that out, yet. I would have, but your city doesn't have traffic cameras up at the intersections. Why is that? Most cities, even rural towns, have those."

"I dunno. Probably cause the city can't afford to keep repairing them after every ghost fight that destroys them," he wondered aloud.

"Ghost fights, ghost fights, that is so cool," Tony continued on, remembering what Amity Park was famous for now. "Does anyone ever get hurt? Who fights the ghosts? Your parents? Other ghost hunters, too, I bet. Are there any friendly ghosts? I mean, they're like people, right? Dead people. How does that work, anyway?"

Danny laughed and held his hands up. "Stop, stop! Too many questions! No, _no one_ ever gets hurt, except for the ghost hunters and the ghosts. Yeah, my parents and some other hunters fight the ghosts, but they can't really do much against them. There's another ghost who's responsible for protecting the town, mostly. His name's Phantom. White hair, green eyes, a black and white hazmat suit. Can't miss him."

"Phantom. What an incredibly stereotypical name," the billionaire drawled, chuckling.

Steve rolled his eyes, and focused on the earlier part of what Danny said. "You put a heavy emphasis on 'no one', earlier. Are you surprised, or... what?"

Shrugging, Danny frowned. "I guess I feel kind of protective over the town. My parents' research is what made all this happen, really. There are natural portals to the Ghost Zone, but those are usually spread out and completely random. My parents' artificial portal is what allows ghosts to get through to the human world all the time. I just feel kind of responsible."

The Captain could understand wanting to protect people. That was mainly why he wanted to join the army when he was just a kid. "I understand. You have to realize, though, you _aren't_ responsible for all those people. Be a hero when you can, but remember your own safety, too. We can't _all_ be super soldiers," he advised, smiling a little at the joke.

The teen grinned. "Yeah, I know. I've just always been the self-sacrificing type."

Tony rolled his eyes and mumbled, "I'm surrounded by bleeding hearts, great."

With that, the three of them settled in to play some games. Most of it was teaching Steve how to play them, but it was still a fun experience. Five o'clock rolled around before they knew it, and the trio had spent an enjoyable afternoon together.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - To the anon who was glad I didn't make Tony snark at Danny for his assumption: I honestly don't think that he would do that in the situation he was in. Tony has always seemed like the kind of guy who'll go along with it and tease the other person when they realize who they were talking to the entire time. Tony's a jerk to strangers, but he seems to really enjoy gentle teasing and tormenting. ^u^**

 **Thanks for more great reviews! At this rate, I'll have enough motivation and inspiration to keep the story going strong. Thanks, guys, and enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Four

High Society Sucks

When Tony had said that they were going to the same dinner party, Danny had thought that meant the billionaire would be responsible and send him back to his hotel around five o'clock that evening. He didn't expect to be very, very wrong and have the philanthropist drag him out to a high-end store and buy him an Armani suit an hour before the event. Yes, Tony had been responsible and gotten Danny ready for the party, just not in the way the halfa expected.

Steve wasn't attending the dinner party, but he did come along to laugh at his new friend being dressed up like a doll several times before the tailors found something they liked on him. He ended up with a black suit, dark green waistcoat, and a silvery-green tie. Danny had to admit that it looked very good on him, and it accentuated his slim, toned physique.

When the tailors asked him to take off his shirt in front of the other two men, he had gotten _really_ anxious. Like, panicking anxious. He had trouble breathing, which meant it was a good thing he didn't need to breathe as often as normal humans.

Danny didn't want his new friends to see his scars. Tony probably already knew that he had muscles, and there was no reason to hide how strong he was around these people. It was nothing compared to how strong Steve was, at least, without his ghostly strength. The scars, though, those would give away too much. They'd want to know how he got them, and why there were _so many_.

The teen played the 'awkward, shy kid' card as a last ditch effort to hide himself.

"I- uh, please, can I..." he mumbled, being herded to the raised dais the tailors had their guinea pig― I mean, customer ―stand on. "I'm... kind of shy. Tony? Could you and Steve leave while I'm getting dressed?"

Steve nodded and answered for Tony, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him out of the room. When they were gone, the two tailors assigned to Danny wasted no time in getting him stripped down and dressed up. It only took three tries before they found something they were all happy with, and the two Avengers were called back into the room.

Tony smirked at the embarrassed but happy smile Danny wore as he examined himself in the mirror. Steve just chuckled warmly, glad that his new friend wasn't too traumatized by the experience. The tailors were off to the side, smugly grinning at the teenager's awed expression.

"So, Danny, what do you think?" Tony drawled, amusement coloring his tone.

Danny spun around and gave him a huge grin. "It's awesome! I look great! This is so much better than the dinky old suit I have sitting in my hotel room. Not to mention a lot more stylish. Are you sure about getting this for me?" he replied enthusiastically.

Tony grinned back, and said, "Yeah, squirt. Don't worry about it, I've got enough money to get thousands of Armani suits and still have plenty left over to live comfortably for the rest of my life, as short as it may be with that shrapnel trying to get to my heart."

Steve grimaced at the reminder that his teammate's life was constantly in danger without the miniature arc reactor in his chest. "Trust me, Danny, Tony loves spending his money on expensive things. Why else would he build a giant tower in the middle of New York?"

The teen shrugged. "I don't know. Thanks, though. Today was a lot of fun."

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "You're staying for the week, right? How about you come hang out with us again? I can actually show you my workshop next time, and maybe we could build something, or upgrade the robot dog you wanted to make."

Danny thought about that, and the idea of giving a completed robot dog to Skulker was too good. Maybe Technus could even animate it, or show him how. "Alright," he replied. "That sounds like a lot of fun. I was gonna get bored with the Expo after the third or fourth day, anyway."

Steve patted him on the back. "Thanks for teaching me how to play video games."

Rubbing the back of his neck, the teen grinned, an embarrassed blush spread across his cheeks. "It was no big deal. You can't really live in modern society without knowing _something_ about gaming, it's kind of unfair to leave you in the dark like that."

"Still," the blond pressed, "thanks. I'll look forward to your next visit. You and Tony should be heading to the venue now, it's getting close to seven. Don't want your parents to worry, do you?" He shooed the other two on.

The teen let out a snort. "They probably wouldn't even notice I'm gone if it weren't for the fact that I'm the only person they know here. Back home, the only times they notice I'm missing is if I break curfew and come in through the front door when they're in the living room."

Tony glanced over Danny's head at Steve's dark expression. The muscle-head soldier didn't even know about their young friend's school records or constant kidnappings and he was reacting this way to unobservant parents. The genius was pretty sure that Danny just gained a new parent.

Now it was Tony's turn to herd them along. "Alright, squirt, let's get to the car. The Cap's right, we need to get to the venue. I'm usually late, but the bouncers probably won't be as lenient towards a teenager, even if they are with me," he commanded, guiding them along.

Steve watched the dark-haired duo slide into a royal blue Ferrari, which he had a feeling Tony picked because it went well with his suit, and gave a brief wave as they drove away. He wanted to know what about Danny's life had made Tony so dazed earlier, aside from the whole 'ghost attacks' thing. The teen mentioning how unobservant his parents were had reminded him of the discussion they had when they were introduced, and he knew JARVIS would have more info for him. He just had to get back to the tower, first.

* * *

Tony, Danny discovered, didn't like people driving him around, if he could help it. He had a chauffeur, Harold "Happy" Hogan, but almost never drove him around. It was the exact opposite with Vlad, and that didn't really surprise him much.

Tony and Vlad, though both billionaires, were about as different as you could get. Vlad craved power and notoriety where Tony couldn't care less. Vlad was suave and controlled, while Tony was reckless and wild. The teen found it refreshing, honestly. Very few people in his life were reckless like Tony was, and sometimes people needed a little wildness.

Sam was strong, independent, and generally sensible. Tucker was quieter, geeky, and fun to be around. He was less likely to fight head-on like Danny or Sam or Valerie. Jazz was very sensible and responsible, a pillar holding her younger brother up. Danny could always rely on those three in times of need, and he was grateful for that.

Tony reminded him of a milder, kinder version of Dan, honestly. From what Sam said, he was a general dick to people he wasn't friends with, and was probably a dick to his friends, too. Just because he hadn't really had a chance to see the genius like that didn't mean he wasn't. So, Danny went along with the man and had fun. He probably wouldn't ever see Tony again after the week was up, anyway.

"So, what's a dinner party like with you?" the raven-haired teen asked curiously. He had been to a few semi-formal dinner parties with Vlad and Sam, but this was different, and he knew it. He didn't want to make a huge mistake and embarrass himself or his family.

Tony shrugged. "Not much. It's actually kind of dull. I have to _behave_ at these things, or at least, that's what Pepper says." He paused, then explained. "Pepper Potts, my ex-PA and current CEO of Stark Industries."

Danny nodded. "Basically a very high-class dinner where everyone dresses up and there's a lot of social maneuvering?" He thought of what Vlad had said to him before about formal parties. There was a lot of empty flattery involved.

The man snorted. "Yeah, pipsqueak, that's _exactly_ what formal dinner parties are. A huge bore. And if you're lucky, your parents will let me take you with me when I escape early." He flashed a cocky grin at the teen when Danny laughed, and pulled up into the parking lot.

"If I'm lucky," Danny agreed.

A valet came to take the car, but Happy waved him away and slid into the driver's seat. Tony would call when he wanted to leave, and until then, Happy would return to Stark Tower with the expensive car to ensure its safety.

The entrance to the building was large and ornately decorated, with tall windows and delicate stone carvings that just screamed 'ridiculously wealthy'. The security took one look at Tony, waved him on, and scanned their list for Danny's name. It didn't take long, since his parents had already come by, and they weren't really forgettable in _any_ circumstances.

"You two have a nice evening. There's free seating for most of the guests, given that _plus ones_ are allowed. Go on in, Mr. Stark, Mr. Fenton," one of the large, black-suited men instructed. His face was expressionless, and reminded Danny a bit of Pariah Dark's skeleton thralls.

Inside, people in fine dresses and well-tailored suits were mingling casually, the sharp tinkle of polite laughter spread across the large hall. Off to one side, the ghost teen spied his father's hulking form and chuckled. He seemed way out of his depth there.

"Tony," he called, getting his friend's attention, "I'm gonna go talk to my parents for a minute, see how they're doing. Do you want me to come and find you before we're seated? You said these parties were really boring."

The billionaire shook his head. "I'll find you. I've got some people I have to meet up with, so I can't goof off the whole evening. Oh, hey," he replied, remembering something. "Remember to ask about leaving early!"

Danny waved in agreement as he strolled away, carefully dodging people left and right. It wouldn't do to bump into someone and make them spill their drink. He had been to enough events that ended badly, thank you very much.

"Mom, Dad!" he exclaimed, pulling their attention away from their conversation. The two ghost hunters beamed when they saw him, and the teen noticed his mother taking in his new apparel. He grinned and turned. "Do you like it?"

His dad slapped him on the back good-naturedly. "You look great, Danny!"

"Yes, sweetie. Where did you get it, though? That money I gave you couldn't have bought _that_ nice of a suit..." she trailed off, trying to work it out herself.

Danny shrugged. "Like I said in the message I left you," he replied, "I sort of got kidnapped by Tony Stark. Apparently, he likes blowing his money on completely superfluous things like a new Armani suit for a teenager he took a liking to."

Maddie's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh... um..."

He just shrugged again. Steve and Tony's combined reassurance that it was no big deal had made him finally give in and accept the outfit as a gift. He still wasn't sure why they wanted to do that for him, but continuing to turn it down would've been rude.

"Yeah. Sorry I couldn't meet up with you, but since Tony's attending this party, too, he wanted to save time and just bring me along. That okay?" Danny asked hesitantly.

Maddie crossed her arms and frowned. "Sometimes your father and I would appreciate you spending a little time with us, you know. You're gone so often, after all. _But_ ," she continued, frown softening into a smile, "I guess it's alright. You had fun, and you let us know where you were. God knows you're nearly eighteen, after all. You can make your own choices."

"Thanks, Mom." He hugged her, and glanced around at the other guests.

Jack had already gone off in search of hor'dourves and Maddie was looking a bit lost in the high society environment. She was a scientist, not a socialite, and her son could tell this was a bit out of her comfort zone. He bumped shoulders with his mom and gave her a comforting grin to ease her nerves.

"I bet Vlad would die a little if he saw Dad raiding the hor'dourves here," he commented, thinking of amusing scenarios to taunt the fruitloop with. Their relationship was no longer an intense hatred/arch-nemeses, but prank wars were still to be had on occasion.

"I would, but I don't want to half-ass the job," a suave, low voice spoke up from behind the mother-son duo. Danny spun around, shocked, and glared.

"Don't startle me like that, Vlad! You remember what happened last time?" Danny complained, crossing his arms in a huff.

Last time, Danny put two holes in Vlad's cape, one from each hand. He had been really stressed out that week, and a high-strung Danny meant a hair-trigger ectoblast Danny. Neither of them wanted to relive that experience, as evidenced by the apologetic look on Vlad's face.

"Yes, of course, my bad," he replied, grimacing. "I was just chatting when I noticed your father come charging across the room, and I knew that he wouldn't be here alone, so I decided to come say hello. You and Maddie look very nice, tonight."

The teen frowned. "Not to be rude, but why are you here? Last I checked, this was a formal dinner hosted by Stark Industries, one of your competitors," the raven-haired youth asked, suspiciously curious.

Vlad smirked. "I received an invitation, courtesy of one Miss Potts. She and the Board of Directors for Stark Industries wished to... _improve_ their business relationship with my company, since they recently stopped marketing weapons."

Business politics, then. Danny's head hurt when he tried to think about the different levels of manipulation and subterfuge involved in the upper echelons of corporations. He had picked up a lot from his ex-arch-enemy, but politics still gave him a headache. Being a ghostly vigilante was so much easier, in his opinion.

"Great. Whatever. Nice to see you, too, and I've gotta go... _socialize_ , or whatnot. Have fun with your business ventures," Danny commented, excusing himself. There was another fifteen minutes until dinner began, and Tony still hadn't come to rescue him from the clutches of the wealthy. He wasn't sure what to do, other than try to find someone else around his age to chat with, and that was practically hopeless.

He wanted nothing more than to go ghost and fly far, _far_ away.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - Now, I know a lot of you are looking forward to Steve's reaction to the information JARVIS managed to dig up on Danny, and that'll come next chapter. Danny's parents aren't neglectful, not really, they're just unobservant.** _ **Really**_ **unobservant. Remember that time where Sam and Tucker had to dress up as Danny and pretend their face got ripped off? Yeah, Jack and Maddie didn't realize that wasn't Danny.** _ **Unobservant**_ **.**

 **Danny's got very good manners. You can't spend time around Vlad and Frostbite and Dora without picking some up.**

 **We'll meet another major character in this chapter, so enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Five

Business Rivals Meet

Those fifteen minutes were some of the weirdest of his life. Three minutes after excusing himself from conversation with Vlad and his Mom, Danny literally ran into Tony. He had been speed walking away from a group of older ladies who had thought he was the cutest thing since corgi puppies and wanted to pinch his cheeks and feed him hor'dourves. Old ladies were apparently the same no matter where you went. The only old lady who hadn't done anything like that was Sam's grandma Ida.

So, while looking over his shoulder, Danny sped up and ran right into the billionaire he had spent the afternoon with, playing video games. Thankfully, Tony was adept at not spilling his drink, or the teen would've felt immensely guilty for the collision. As it was, he was still pretty apologetic to the other man.

"Oh, sorry, Tony! I didn't mean to run into you, I was just esc... um, politely hurrying away from some older ladies. They can be scary when they want to," Danny apologized, head ducked in embarrassment. He had changed the wording of his sentence when he noticed a pretty red-headed lady standing in front of Tony.

She seemed familiar from somewhere, probably a magazine or tabloid he had glanced at. Her stance was strong despite being a thin, delicate-looking woman, and she had an air of professionalism about her. He flashed a polite smile and looked to the billionaire for introductions.

Tony patted him on the shoulder with an understanding grimace. "Hey, squirt. This," he gestured to his lady friend, "is Pepper Potts. My CEO. She's the one we have to behave for, 'cause she can be scary when she's angry."

Pepper smiled sweetly. "All women can, Tony. It's part of how we get men like you to do what you're supposed to, and not what you _want_ to." She offered a hand to Danny in greeting.

Danny felt his manners training from Vlad and Clockwork (surprisingly enough) kick in, and took her hand, gently pressing his lips to it. "Danny Fenton. Nice to meet you, Miss Potts. Tony mentioned you before, you seem to be a very capable person."

She blushed and smoothed down her dress when he released her hand. "Thank you, you're such a sweet boy. How did you and Tony meet? Forgive me, but you don't really seem to be the type of person he'd hang around with," she replied.

Danny frowned. "No, I'm not, really. I accidentally roped him into programming a robot for me during a competition at Stark Expo," he answered. Then he glanced at Tony. "Why _did_ you decide to hang out with me?"

Tony was still a little surprised by Danny's greeting to Pepper, and was brought back to reality by the teenager's question. "Your talent for engineering. You've got a lot of potential, didn't I say that? You're just untrained. When I brought you back to the Tower, I was going to show you my workshop, and maybe give you some pointers."

The raven-haired teen nodded in understanding. "But then you got distracted, and needed some time to process what you learned, so we ended up playing video games with Steve all afternoon. Got it."

Pepper looked mildly surprised, but after years around Tony, she had learned to roll with the punches, so to speak. "Well, at least you didn't get into trouble. Remember, Tony, no giving Danny alcohol, and try to avoid clubbing, will you? He doesn't look twenty-one, I'd rather not risk you getting him arrested."

Crossing his arms, Tony let out an indignant huff. "I _know_ , Pepper. I wasn't gonna do anything like _that_ with him! Besides, even if I wanted to, Cap wouldn't let me. I just know he's gonna mother-hen Danny until he leaves."

The red-head opened her mouth to make another teasing comment when a familiar face strolled up to the trio. She blinked, and forced a smile. "Oh, hello, Mr. Masters. How are you liking the party so far?"

Danny rolled his eyes as Tony stuck out his tongue at Pepper when she wasn't paying attention. If Vlad was involved, Pepper would probably be the only person there actually acting like an adult, before long.

"Little badger, you didn't tell me you were... acquainted with Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts," Vlad commented, eyebrows rising. He smirked at the annoyed glare the teen sent him. Turning to Pepper, he replied smoothly, "It's a lovely party, and I was pleasantly surprised to see some old friends here. Daniel's parents are attending Stark Expo as lectures, aren't they?"

Tony watched the interaction between Danny and Vlad with interest, trying to puzzle out the best way to annoy the other man. Danny seemed annoyed at the over-familiarity Vlad was showing towards him, so Tony wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulders and smirked.

"We met at the Expo earlier today. Built a robot, played video games, I bought him a new Armani suit. He's a lot of fun. You're a family friend, then?" Tony replied to Vlad's earlier question about them knowing each other. If the twitch in the other billionaire's left eye was any indicator, he had succeeded in his endeavor.

Danny noticed this, too, and chuckled quietly. "Yeah, Tony programmed a robot for me, since programming was always Tucker's specialty. He's gonna teach me a bit about engineering so I can improve my skills."

It was the word 'teach' that did it. Vlad's polite, forced smile melted into an angry glare, directed solely at Tony. Danny didn't hold any real malice towards the other halfa, but he still hadn't accepted Vlad's constant offers of apprenticeship. It was easy to tease the other halfa with what Tony had mentioned.

Pepper, bless her heart, saw an incoming fistfight (that would have escalated into something much more dangerous, given that both participants were supers), and quickly stepped between the two rival billionaires. She checked her watch and sighed in relief.

"Hey, how about we all go and sit down? It's just about time for dinner," she pressed, grabbing Danny herself. To him, she whispered, "Do you want to sit with me? I don't know if we can find your parents before it's time to order."

Danny nodded quickly. "Good thinking back there," he muttered. "Let me tell you, you do _not_ want a fight between those two. I've heard what Tony can do when he suits up, and they're both good with sarcasm. It'd be a snark-fest-turned-superpowered-fistfight."

The woman just gave him an odd look and accepted that. "You seem close with Masters. Is he really a family friend? I didn't know he _had_ any friends. He reminds me of Tony, just colder and more manipulative. Maybe more controlled, too."

"Yeah, he and my parents were friends in college. I used to hate him, but we worked out our differences a couple years ago," he answered. "He wants me to be his apprentice, so the whole 'teaching' thing is a sore point for him. I probably shouldn't have used that to antagonize him, but it was too tempting."

She nodded slowly and gave him a serious look. "I don't know much about Vlad Masters or your relationship with him, but he's always seemed kind of lonely to me. You probably hurt him a bit by taking Tony's offer and throwing it in his face."

Danny ducked his head in shame. Now that she pointed it out... Pepper was right. That was a really mean thing to do. He wasn't fourteen anymore, he was better than that.

"Now, you're young, and human." He mentally snorted at the second part. "You make mistakes, but you can learn from them. You have time to grow and change before you're expected to do everything perfectly, all the time. Just, try to understand how Mr. Masters might feel. You said you worked things out, so it shouldn't be that hard to apologize later."

Pepper made a lot of sense. In a way, she reminded Danny of his older sister, and not just in appearance. She had the responsible wisdom he had missed when Jazz went off to college. It was refreshing.

"Thanks," Danny sighed, sincerity lacing his voice. "I needed that. Sometimes it's hard to remember that enemies, even if they're your allies now, have feelings just like you do."

He missed her shocked expression as he sat down at the table, so he didn't realize just how much more he had given away. With the implications from earlier that Vlad had powers or some kind of technology that could give him powers, like Tony, and the statement that implied the two of them had been enemies once upon a time, things began to click about the older teen that hadn't occurred to Pepper before.

Steve wasn't the only one who felt a need to research the teen's background.

* * *

The duo's escape from the billionaire rivals didn't last long, though. Both of them joined Pepper and Danny at their table, glaring daggers at each other until the food arrived. Conversation was non-existent, and Danny spent most of the wait texting Tucker about what happened to him that day.

Tucker was thrilled that his best friend had gotten to hang out with _the_ Tony Stark, genius inventor, coder, and Iron Man. He was insanely envious, but very proud of Danny for being good enough to catch Tony's attention. He agreed to update Sam on the situation, and found it hilarious that Vlad and Tony nearly got into a fistfight because of Danny.

When the food arrived, some of the tension eased. The blue-eyed teen actually felt it safe enough to talk to the people he was seated with. He had a few bites of his very tender steak and smiled shyly at the table occupants.

"So, you two obviously don't like each other," Danny commented, gesturing to Vlad and Tony. The two stopped glaring at the other to look curiously at Danny.

"Why are you trying to make a business alliance?" he asked.

Vlad sent a dirty look at Tony before answering Danny's question. "I'm not making a business alliance with _Stark_ , I'm making one with Ms. Potts and Stark Industries. There is a slight difference that makes it tolerable to myself, but it's a nuance I wouldn't expect you to understand just yet, Daniel."

Danny frowned, and threw back, "Why not? I've picked up a lot from you over the past three years, and lessons with... the resident history buff have polished some of that. I may not _like_ business politics, but at least I understand most of it."

Vlad blinked at that. "You've been having lessons with Cl-" he exclaimed, cutting himself off before he could give anything away. Tony and Pepper might've played it off as an odd nickname, but Pepper was very intuitive and clever. He didn't want to risk it.

The teen nodded seriously. "Yeah, he _is_ my guardian there, after all. He has a responsibility to teach me about the history of that place." He glanced over at Tony and Pepper, coming up with a good explanation. "Summer camp I usually go to. My favorite counselor is a history buff, and history involves a _lot_ of politics."

Tony knew there was something off about that. "You've only been to camp once, though."

Danny grimaced. He forgot that registering for camps and things would show up if the billionaire dug deep enough. "That you know of," he replied quietly. Maybe that would make Tony unsure of what he'd discovered. Or it would make him dig deeper. Who knew? Not Danny, that's for sure.

Vlad sighed. "Alright, little badger, finish your food. We can talk more about business after we're done, if that's what you'd like," he drawled, gently scooping up some of his creamy soup. That interaction had sucked the remaining tension out of the air, and drained some of the energy from both halfas. They were tired of fighting each other.

Danny just nodded placidly and continued eating. Tony and Pepper shared a concerned glance, and the rest of their meal was spent in silence.

When it came time to go back to socializing, the teen turned down Tony's offer of an early escape. Besides the fact that he didn't have any energy left to spend with people, be them new friends or not, he wanted to apologize to Vlad before either of them left.

"I'll be at the Expo again," Danny said. "If you still want to hang out with me, we can exchange phone numbers, but I'm a little too tired tonight. I've also got something I have to do before I leave, so I'll go back with my parents. They're probably about ready to head out, too."

The genius frowned, but accepted Danny's decision. "Alright, squirt. I'll come get you tomorrow, and then you can see my workshop. I bet Steve would be disappointed if I didn't bring you back, anyway."

The teen chuckled tiredly. "Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Tony watched him disappear into the crowd of party-goers, surprised at how fast the teen could blend in and vanish. He wondered if he should introduce Danny to Natasha, briefly, before deciding that that was a _really_ bad idea. If he was this good at disappearing now... he didn't really want to see what training would allow the kid to do.

The genius turned back to find Pepper, Danny's comment " _that you know of"_ floating around in his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Thank you to the two extremely helpful anon reviews! You two gave me lots of good ideas that will be put into play sooner or later. This chapter will focus mainly on the other characters, it's time to see what they know. This chapter's a little shorter because of that, but it should still be a good read. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Six

Interesting Discoveries

It took the young halfa another ten minutes to find Vlad. The first thing he did was check in with his parents and make sure they weren't unhappy with him for eating dinner with other people and to make sure they were planning to leave soon. If they hadn't been, he always could have flown back to the hotel, but it was easier to just go along with his parents' wishes.

Pepper was right about needing to apologize. The guilt he felt when he realized that he'd hurt the older man hadn't lessened, and even if it had, he would still have gone and been a responsible person. Even if he didn't intend to, he had hurt Vlad, and he really _was_ sorry. It had just been another way to tease the older halfa, but he hadn't considered how it would make Vlad feel, kind of like that time where he got the Guys in White to blow up the billionaire's mansion with all of the Packers paraphernalia in it.

So, when he stumbled upon the suave billionaire, he gently tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he could spare a minute from his conversation. Vlad was mildly surprised, since he had to seek Danny out each time they had spoken that evening.

"Of course, Daniel," he responded, and excused himself from the group of socialites. "What is it you want?" He looked the teen up and down, taking in his somber, tired expression and fidgeting hands.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier," Danny blurted suddenly. "When you showed up, and obviously didn't like Tony, it seemed like a great chance for me to taunt you, but I didn't stop to think about whether or not I'd hurt your feelings."

Vlad went wide-eyed with surprised. "Really?" he asked.

The teen nodded sadly. "We're not enemies anymore. We haven't been for over a year now, and I just wanted to tease you a little, maybe annoy you some. Truth is, I've been kind of scared of agreeing to be your apprentice, even though I want to, because I'm still going to be a hero, and I'm still going to do my own thing. I'd really appreciate some extra training, maybe even a sparring match or two, but you've always been so dead-set on me being your evil son or whatever, and I can't do that. I can't let myself do that."

Vlad gripped his shoulder, a pained expression on his face. "I understand, little badger. You're not the only one who's done a bit of growing up over the past few years. When I struck an alliance with you, I accepted that you'd never be my son, or turn evil. I still _see_ you as a son, but I know that oaf of a father you have will always take that place in your heart."

"Yeah," Danny muttered. He looked Vlad square in the eyes, entirely serious. "I am sorry, though, and I really would like it if we could train together, no strings attached, no conditions. You could stop trying to be 'Vlad the father' and accept the 'honorary uncle' title my dad has always wanted you to have."

The older man smiled gently. "I'd like that, Daniel. Thank you."

* * *

Tony arrived back at the tower only to find Steve waiting for him in the parking garage, tuning up his bike to keep busy. The blond super soldier looked up as the sleek Ferrari pulled into its empty spot and watched as Tony turned it off and hopped out.

"Tony," he said, face grim, "we need to have a talk."

The billionaire looked at the folder in his hands, no doubt info printed by JARVIS for the technologically-handicapped Cap. He furrowed his brows, and muttered, "About Danny?"

When Steve nodded, he motioned for the soldier to follow, leading the way to the elevator and up to the common floor. JARVIS had already begun to look for more information, prompted by a text Tony sent earlier. They had to piece it all together now.

When they were both seated at the counter separating the kitchen from the living room, Steve opened the folder and spread out the papers. Tony noticed that he had made notes whenever something seemed particularly important.

Steve glanced at the other man. Tony's face was pensive, eyes unseeing. "You spent the evening with him, did he give anything away that might be a hint to all... this?" he asked, waving his arm in a sweeping gesture at the papers.

The genius frowned. "A bit. He knew Vlad Masters, a business rival of mine, and apparently Masters wants Danny to be his apprentice, or something. They also have a mutual friend who's a history buff, and a camp counselor, too, but I think that part was a lie."

Shaking his head, the super soldier let out a barking laugh. "This isn't getting any more simple as we learn more. Are you sure there isn't anything else?"

"Let's recap," Tony drawled. "The kid is the son of two scientists who specialize in _ghosts_ , which have managed to overrun the town he lives in several times in the past three years, one of which got the entire town transported to an alternate dimension. Let's not forget that he's used to being kidnapped, which is _not normal_ , his parents are apparently unobservant enough to almost never notice he's missed curfew, and his attendance at school is spotty at best. Danny Fenton is one giant mystery."

"And you said he was a very talented engineer," Steve added. "He seems like a really smart kid, but his grades certainly don't show it. Both his parents and sister are geniuses, it's hard to believe that the intelligence gene skipped him."

The billionaire nodded slowly, processing that in addition to the other things they'd learned over the course of the day. He had wondered about Danny's grades in passing, because the teen was so obviously smarter than what they indicated, but it hadn't really stuck out compared to the number of times he had been missing for over a day, or the fact that he hadn't been to the hospital for even a routine checkup in three years.

That fact, the lack of yearly checkups, had been the most suspicious and giving. Tony had heard of many cases where a mutant or someone with inborn powers had emphatically avoided physicals, checkups, blood work, anything that could possibly give them away.

Quietly, he slid the sheet with Danny's medical records over to the blond. He watched as Steve's eyes widened in realization, and sighed. If they were right, and Danny had some kind of power, this could be a lot more complicated than they thought.

"Do you really think...?" Steve asked hesitantly. He didn't want to assume.

Tony grimaced. "Yeah. It's the best explanation that we have. It doesn't _really_ explain why he misses school so often, or why he just vanishes for days at a time, but it's the best we've got. He hinted that I wouldn't be able to find all of the information on him, anyway."

" _That you know of..."_ That comment was persistent. It didn't want to be ignored. Tony wanted to figure it out. He wasn't bored, for once, and he was growing more concerned about the state of his new friend.

"How about introducing him to some of the other Avengers?" Tony pondered.

Shrugging, the super soldier replied, "That could prove interesting. He's here for a week, isn't he? I think Bruce would like him, and Thor likes everybody. If the big guy drops in, that is. He's due for a visit, isn't he?"

"What, Thor?" the billionaire asked, for confirmation. "Yeah. In the next few weeks, at least. Y'know, Clint would probably appreciate Danny's sarcasm. And puns. How does he even _make_ that many puns? It's like he's had training for it. And I thought _I_ was good at making puns. Danny's got me beat by a mile. Do you think Natasha would hit him if she met him?"

"Why would she hit him?" Steve asked, confused by the hyperactive babble suddenly falling from the billionaire's mouth.

"I'm not sure. I think Pepper almost hit him, he did nearly cause a fistfight, though let's ignore the fact that I would've been one of the participants," Tony continued, pacing. "He's really nice, most of the time, kind of polite and shy, but that dry wit he showed when we were gaming this afternoon? That was impressive. I was impressed. Were you impressed? 'Cause I was. I didn't expect a quiet seventeen-year-old to be nearly that snarky."

Steve groaned. "Alright, alright, I'm going to bed now. You're too chatty. Are you planning on picking up Danny tomorrow?" he responded, pressing a hand to his forehead, trying to rid himself of the budding headache.

Tony smirked. "Of course. I still have to show him my workshop, and _that_ ," he stated, still pacing, "is better than anything he could find at my expo. I may or may not just send Happy to wait at his hotel room tomorrow morning, too. Do you think he'd mind being kidnapped again?"

"Good _night_ , Tony," Steve called, already at the stairwell.

He heard an amused chuckle before Tony started muttering to himself again, occasionally addressing JARVIS. With any luck, those two would find out something else that could answer their near-infinite list of questions.

* * *

"Agent Romanov," a deep voice growled. Natasha picked up the file that was pushed across the table, face impassive. "This person of interest has been seen around Stark since around noon earlier today. I want you to investigate him, and what he's doing around Stark and Rogers. He should be relatively passive, we have no indication of any hostility."

She nodded. "Yes, sir. Do you want me to start immediately, or wait until he shows up around one of the Avengers again?" she asked, waiting for clarification.

Director Fury massaged his temples. It had been a _long_ day. "Wait until he appears near one of the Avengers again. It seems he and Stark exchanged _phone numbers_..."

Natasha grimaced. A friend of Tony's was likely to be just as annoying as the genius himself, in her experience. Pepper and Rhodey were the only apparent exceptions to the rule, seeing as she didn't really consider any of the other Avengers to be Tony's friends.

"Thank you, sir. I'll report back to you when I know more," she stated.

As she was headed out the door, Fury called out for her to wait.

"You might want to take up residence in Stark Tower. It would make your job easier, and Clint will be returning there tomorrow. He likes the luxury of it better than the barracks here at the base," he commented. "And Agent Romanov? There is a possibility that the target is Phantom."

She grimaced, shaking red hair back from her face. This mission would prove interesting, that was for sure.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - Thank you again for the wonderful reviews, it definitely improves my mood when I need it. Chapter seven, Danny actually has some contact with his friends. The title is a play on 'One Call Away', though not in any romantic sense. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Seven

One Phone Call Away

Back at the hotel, Danny gently closed his room's door and slipped out onto the balcony. He needed to talk with Sam and Tucker. It had only been one day, and yet so many things had happened in that short space of time. He was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Pulling out his cell phone, he sent off a quick text to his friends, asking them if they were up for a group conversation. Receiving positive responses, he leaned back against the cool metal railing and looked up at the sky.

New York City wasn't a place where you could see the stars. Years of pollution, smog, and other environmental hazards mixed with bright lights in the 'city that never sleeps' to block out anything but low clouds and the moon itself. In that moment, Danny could really appreciate Amity Park for its small size and quiet nightlife. The two cities were about as different as night and day, summer and winter.

When he received a call from Sam (she had the better phone), he let a soft smile light up his face. His friends were always there for him, even several states away.

"Hey, guys," he greeted, hopping up to sit on the railing. "How's it going back home?"

There was a quiet discussion on the other end, not loud enough for the halfa to make out, and Sam spoke up. " _Clockwork asked us to tell you to be careful, and to see him as soon as you got back. There's nothing exactly dangerous, or at least, we think there isn't, but I'd still keep my guard up."_

Tucker added, " _We don't know what's going on in the Ghost Zone, but something big is happened, or getting ready to happen. Dan said it wasn't urgent, though. He mentioned something about a party."_

Danny wondered what it could be. It wasn't anywhere near Christmas, so it wasn't the truce, but then what could it be? "Guys, is it the anniversary of anything special soon?" he asked, curious to see if they had any ideas.

He heard a deep laugh, and sighed. " _Hey, kiddo. Remember what day it'll be in a couple weeks? It may be a little_ shocking _to remember. It's a big day for us both."_ Dan liked puns just as much as Danny did, but he liked word games much more. That was from the half that was Plasmius, of course.

The halfa teen thought about it. Big day. Important to both of them. A party. _What could it be?_ He thought of everything. His birthday wasn't for another two months.

Then it hit him. "My _deathday?!_ " he exclaimed.

A dark chuckle from the other end of the line made shivers roll down his spine. Ancients, sometimes Dan could be creepy. Danny's voice still hadn't finished maturing, so it was halfway in between Vlad's smooth tenor and Dan's deep baritone. He had initially wanted to take a vow of silence when his voice started changing, because there were times when it had reached that smooth baritone his evil future self spoke in. That was before Dan was let out and sent on the path to redemption, though. These days, Danny actually enjoyed how low his voice could go, and enjoyed messing with Dash (whose voice was still in that prepubescent stage where it cracked every two sentences).

" _Bingo, kid. It's been nearly three years, and your allies want to celebrate. Adding to that, the Observants have something special planned that I'm not allowed to tell you about. Giving you the hint to figure out the occasion is stretching it, but Clockwork wouldn't let me be here for this call if he didn't want me to,"_ Dan drawled, and the teen could almost _see_ his fanged grin.

Danny heard someone sigh, and chuckled. "Can you give the phone back to Sam or Tucker, now? Oh, and thanks for helping them out."

" _No problem, mini-me. Talk to ya later, I've gotta go on patrol anyway."_

Then, Tucker took his chance. " _So how was dinner with Tony Stark and Vlad Masters?"_

" _Tucker, you didn't tell me Danny ran into Vlad!"_ Sam shouted.

Laughing, he answered, "Pretty tense. Did I tell you that I nearly got them into a fistfight? Because I did. It was almost scary how much those two disliked each other. Kinda like how Vlad hates my dad, but this time the hatred is returned. Pepper, Pepper Potts, was the only thing stopping them from battling it out right there in the middle of the party."

" _Nice! Are you gonna hang out with Stark some more?"_ Tucker asked curiously.

"Yeah. He's pretty cool, and Steve is really nice. It'd be rude not to drop by and say hello when I have six days left in New York," Danny replied. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm just worried about what they're going to do tomorrow. Tony kind of looked up my records and things, he likes to research people, apparently."

" _Dude, you don't think they'll figure it out, do you?"_ Tucker asked, anxiety lacing his voice.

" _You've gotta be careful, Danny. They may not be the Guys in White, but the Avengers are a government-sanctioned team of heros, and they might not treat Phantom as an ally."_ Sam sounded really concerned, and she had a right to be.

Danny hadn't thought of it like that before. He had missed practically all of the invasion of New York City because of a training session with Frostbite and Dani, and he hadn't felt the need to look up information about the attack. It was over, and their people had won, so he had just shrugged it off. Sam was right, though. Tony and Steve were connected to the government, and while they may be heros and less likely to cart him off to some facility to dissect, there was still a chance they had to report their findings to some big boss who _would_ have him carted off.

"Thanks, guys. I hadn't thought of that, I'll keep it in mind," he finally said, after a long silence. "I keep messing up, too. I actually let it slip to Tony that I'm no stranger to kidnapping, can you believe it? Three years of nothing, and all it takes is one day to nearly reveal myself."

" _Nice going, clueless,"_ Sam commented, yawning. " _It's pretty late, here. I've gotta get to bed or I'll be pulling a 'Danny' in class tomorrow."_

"Hey! I thought we agreed to stop calling it that!" the teen in question yelled.

Tucker and Sam laughed. " _Sorry dude, but it stuck. Talk to you later, Danny,"_ Tucker replied, and there was a call of agreement from Sam. Danny exchanged farewells and tapped the 'end call' button, tucking the phone back in his pocket.

His friends had raised a good point about being careful. He knew he couldn't afford more slip-ups, and he couldn't help but worry about his new friends' reaction to the fact that the teen they had been hanging out with the day before was half-dead. He didn't think it'd really matter to Tony, but he wasn't so sure about the Captain. Steve was very accepting, but he had been raised in the '30s and '40s. Old ideals were bound to get in the way of general acceptance.

As Danny changed into his sleep clothes, he desperately wished that nothing bad would happen over the next few days. With his luck, though... he wouldn't count on it.

* * *

Breakfast was a pleasant affair for the Fenton family. Maddie had decided to order room service before Jack and Danny woke up, so everything was there, fresh and hot, by the time the two men were conscious enough to want food. Maddie had asked Danny about how his day had gone and if he was planning on spending more time with Tony and Steve, before sharing how well their lectures had gone over with the scientific community of the Expo.

"It was wonderful! Now that there's proof ghosts exist, so many scientists are flocking to our lectures," she exclaimed excitedly. "We even had some stay after to ask us more in-depth questions about their abilities and the technology we've developed to hunt them."

Danny grinned. "Did you go on and on about how ghosts were just like people, but driven by an obsession, like you always do?" he asked. His mom and dad had finally gotten it through their heads a year ago that ghosts could feel everything humans could, including love, pain, and fear, after Phantom had sat down and had a long chat with them. They still didn't give up hunting the white-haired ghost, or most of the other ghosts who invaded Amity park, but they accepted that not all ghosts were evil, ectoplasmic scum. It made Danny so proud.

"Of course!" she replied. "What do you take me for, an amatuer?"

The raven-haired teen just shook his head, a silly grin on his face. His phone buzzed in his pocked, and he pulled it out to see a text from Tony. _-Happy is waiting to pick you up. Red mustang, like your sweatshirt yesterday.-_ He rolled his eyes.

"Tony's sent someone to pick me up. Do you want me back here by any specific time?" he commented, glancing at his parents.

"Would you actually show up at that time?" Maddie asked knowingly.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not. Tony might decide he needs to take me shopping again, or do the exact opposite of what Pepper told him to do and take me clubbing, because he seems to only follow reverse psychology."

His mom hugged him and kissed his cheek, while his dad slapped his back cheerfully. "Have a good day, sweetie. Try to avoid clubs, and be back before midnight," she said, answering his earlier question.

Danny grinned. "I'll do my best. See you later."

With that, he pulled on his red sweatshirt, grabbed his wallet, and was out the door.

* * *

Happy was indeed waiting patiently for Danny to come down. When the chauffeur spotted the teen, he flashed Danny a friendly smile and motioned for him to follow. The ride to Stark Tower was shorter than the one from the Expo, even though there was the morning rush hour to deal with. It reminded Danny once again how strange a city New York was.

"Hey, Happy?" he muttered, wondering if there was some social protocol that dictated whether or not he could talk to his escort. "Have you met any of the other Avengers?"

The driver glanced in the rear-view mirror with a knowing smile. "Nervous?"

Danny swallowed thickly and nodded. "I mean, they're all so impressive. I'd rather not get on anyone's bad side, if I can avoid it. Steve and Tony are really nice, but I don't know anyone else aside from Pepper, and she's not an Avenger, she's a friend of Tony's."

Happy nodded. "They can be intimidating, at times. I haven't really spoken to any of them except for Mr. Stark, but I do know that they won't hurt you unless you turn out to be a villain in disguise." He paused, and clarified, "That was a joke. You're a nice kid, Danny. You don't have anything to worry about with them. I also doubt Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers would let any harm come to you. You're their friend, now."

Danny gave him a shaky smile. "Thanks." Then, in a whisper, he muttered, "I really hope you're right."

Happy pretended he hadn't heard the last bit. Whatever Danny's issues were, it was none of his business so long as the teenager wasn't a threat to his employer. The teen hadn't shown even the slightest bit of hostility to anyone as far as he was aware.

Before long, they were pulling into the mustang's spot in the garage. Steve had taken the opportunity to work on his bike some more while waiting for Happy to return with Danny, and was there to greet them.

"Danny! I'm glad you could make it," he said, grinning. "Ready to head up?"

The blue-eyed teen nodded, forcing his face to relax into a smile. Steve wasn't acting any differently than before. That either meant he hadn't learned anything about Danny, or he didn't really view any of it as worthy of changing their relationship.

As they were walking, Steve explained, "I know you're probably not comfortable with meeting too many new people so quickly, since Tony and I are still practically strangers, but apparently Tony mentioned you to Bruce, and now our resident scientist wants to meet you, maybe discuss some of your parents' theories, if you know them well enough."

The prospect of meeting a scientist, who was also an Avenger, was frightening, but he nodded in agreement anyway. Nothing had changed. Steve was still being kind and warm towards him. No one had showed up to interrogate him. He was just being paranoid.

" _You're not paranoid if they really are out to get you,"_ the little voice in his head that reminded him of Dan said. He knew everyone had an internal voice, but sometimes he wondered if his was a little more separate because of the accident. Not that it really mattered. It only repeated things he had thought or heard before.

"That would be... interesting. I'm game," he replied casually.

The blond man gave him a warm grin. "Great. He and Tony are 'science bros', whatever that means, and I think Tony was disappointed that you didn't get to meet him yesterday. He talked me into a headache last night. I almost think he had coffee at the party, but I know Pepper was there, and she wouldn't have let him have any caffeine."

That startled a genuine laugh out of Danny. "Yeah, no, there was no caffeine involved. I'm sorry you had to deal with that, he sounds like me after not sleeping for three days straight."

Steve chuckled at that. He realized that what Danny said meant that he had enough experience missing three days of sleep to actually consistently behave in a certain way, and the pit of worry in his stomach grew a little.

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Just subtract exhaustion from the mix, and you've got it."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Did you know I actually _ran_ into him at the party, and he didn't spill his drink? Not a drop made it out of that glass. I don't think I've ever been that impressed at such a generally useless skill, but that was pretty cool."

Steve laughed at that. "What were you running from, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Old ladies!" Danny exclaimed. As the doors to the elevator slid open and the two collapsed against the wall in fits of laughter, the teenager considered the possibility that this might actually be an enjoyable visit.

Tony stared, wide-eyed in shock, at the two of them in hysterics, frozen. And promptly snorted the scotch he was sipping out his nose. Oh yes, this would be an enjoyable visit.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - Not much to say about this chapter. As always, the reviews I've been getting are much appreciated! And of course I won't let SHIELD and the others walk all over Danny. He's probably the most powerful hero out of them all, due to the versatility of his powers. Plus, he has indeed saved the world many times over. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Science Bros and Agents

The scene Bruce Banner walked in on was confusing, to say the least. Tony had asked him to come meet his new friend, an older teenager he had met at the Expo the previous day. Bruce wasn't sure why Tony wanted them to meet, but he was anxious as always about meeting a new person that he could potentially go green at and beat to a bloody pulp.

This... this was not what he had expected. Hell, what he was looking at wasn't even in the realm of possibilities in his mind. He had never seen Steve laughing so hard, and the black-haired kid next to him was in the same condition. Tony was on the floor, shot glass discarded beside him. His hands were covering his nose and mouth, and he looked like he was in pain.

So, he did the sanest thing he could think of and backed up. Slowly.

Too bad Steve noticed him. "H-hey, B-b-bruce," he exclaimed through his laughs. "N-nice to see you... up and ab-about!" It took him some effort, but the super soldier was managing to get his laughing fit under control.

"Uh... hi," he replied cautiously. Waving a hand towards Tony, he dared to ask, "What happened, exactly?"

The black-haired teen spoke up, taking deep, gulping breaths. "He... he snorted scotch out his nose! I didn't think we were _that_ funny! Maybe... it was the shock factor. I don't think he's ever... ever seen Steve laugh like that."

Bruce nodded, slowly piecing together the situation in his mind. The teen and Steve were laughing, probably because of something the teen said, and Tony was startled into laughing while sipping his morning drink. Great.

"Do you think he-he's okay?" Steve asked, still laughing a little. He saw Danny wipe tears from his eyes, and grinned. At least he was in a better mood than earlier. When Happy dropped him off, he looked very tense and anxious.

Bruce carefully made his way over to Tony. "Well, he didn't he the floor from falling. He's down here on his own power, so I wouldn't worry. It's just... apparently, alcohol burns worse than soda when it comes out your nose," he stated.

The teen's eyes widened. "Oh no, that's... terrible," he managed to get out, before breaking into giggles again. Steve patted him on the shoulder, sitting up, and looked over at the scientist who had yet to be introduced.

"So, Bruce, this is Danny Fenton," he said with a smile. "He's got a real talent with engineering, and he managed to catch Tony's interest yesterday."

Danny spoke up, finally calming down. "I really don't, I mean, I just know a little from what my parents have done. Tinkering with their inventions is interesting. And I still can't believe that I roped _Tony Stark_ into being my programmer, and didn't even realize it until we were done."

He buried his face in his hands, lingering embarrassment coloring his cheeks. He didn't really get why Steve and Tony were so impressed with him. Sure, he was better than his friends with building things, but he wasn't _that_ good. He didn't even know any proper terms!

Steve rolled his eyes and called out to Tony. "Hey, Tony! Bruce is here, you want to get up? You still have to show Danny your workshop, don't you?" The genius was lying on the floor, practically dead to the world.

"Mrphelgrm." Whatever the man tried to say was muffled by his hands. There was a pitiful groan, and then, "Why do I have to get up? Do you _know_ how much that burns?"

Danny stood up and walked over to the genius, grinning. "If you can whine, you're fine. First rule my friends and I made for ghost attacks. C'mon, get up. Unless... you want to be _dragged_ to wherever Steve and I decide to take you."

Steve let out a sharp laugh. "You know, we _do_ have a pool here..." he trailed off, smug little smile on his face as Tony lunged his way to standing, and went to hide behind Bruce for good measure.

"Danny's a bad influence on you," Tony cried, still hiding behind Bruce. "If it wasn't for him, you would never have been willing to do that. Oh no! He's turning you evil! So _that's_ your plan, you... you... _teenager!_ Curse you and your adorable politeness!"

The teenager's response to this was a very, _very_ innocent look, with batting his eyelashes at them and all. "What do you mean?" he asked, voice suddenly dropping halfway through the sentence, completely ruining the effect.

Danny raised a hand to his throat and sighed. "Damn it. It couldn't wait _one sentence_ to do that?" he muttered. "But hey, maybe this time, it'll actually stay..."

Tony glanced over at Steve, who shrugged.

Bruce rolled his eyes and introduced himself to Danny. "I'm Bruce Banner. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, but you were kind of preoccupied. Where are you from? Tony mentioned you're only staying the week."

Danny smiled politely. "Amity Park, Minnesota. Ghost central, really. My parents are paranormal scientists who focus their studies on ghosts, so when they got out of college, they moved to a nearby town that had a history of hauntings. Now, it's the most haunted city in the U.S. Kinda annoying, actually, but you get used to it."

"Ghosts? Really?" the scientist asked, surprised.

The raven-haired teen nodded. "A lot of stuff has happened over the past three years. My parents made a portal to the parallel dimension running alongside our own, we've been taken over several times, most of the city has been rebuilt or fortified at least once, you get the picture. It's not the safest place to live, but life there is interesting."

Bruce commented, "Huh. It does sound interesting. Are you familiar with your parents' research, then? It sounds like you know your way around the whole 'ghost' deal."

Danny smiled. "Yeah. It's easy to keep up with when there's a special news channel made for ghost fights, too. One of our news anchors was moved to a new channel set up specifically to broadcast the fights between ghosts that people have managed to record. At first, we all thought it was a joke, but it's been a really big hit."

"I bet." Bruce thought that it would certainly be fun to watch. "So, do the ghosts fight amongst themselves often?"

This time, the teen frowned. "More than you'd think, but most of the fighting is the local hero chasing malevolent ghosts back to the Ghost Zone. That's the parallel dimension I brought up earlier. Funny how everyone thought Phantom was evil at first."

The scientist turned to stare at the teen, surprised by the bitterness in his voice. "I take it you never thought that?" he asked. "What made the citizens change their mind about him?"

The teen shrugged, face neutral. "Time, I guess. Most of the teenage population loved him from the get-go. I guess it just spread after a while, and once people realized that he had been framed or controlled on the two occurrences where he _actually_ did bad things..."

He let out a heavy sigh, and Bruce thought about that. It would be really nice if people didn't view him as a danger for just existing, but that's what the Hulk _was_. A danger to anyone and everyone except himself. He could sympathize.

"Anyway," Danny drawled, continuing on, "it's been almost three years since Phantom appeared, and he's got a ninety-four percent approval rating." Some pride entered his voice, and Bruce wondered why this Phantom character matter so much to the teen.

"That's good," he began, smiling at the happy tone Danny had used. "Then, I guess一"

"Whatcha talking about?" Tony interrupted, popping up right in front of the two males. Danny jumped back and ran into the edge of the couch, nearly forgetting to keep up the normal teenager facade. If it weren't for all of the time spent hiding his physique during school and gym class, he would have slipped up _again_.

"Don't do that!" he snapped, eyes shut to hide the rush of green. "Jeez, you scared me!"

Tony snickered, and replied, "Sorry. I'll try to avoid that from now on, but it's time to show you my sacred place. The personal workshop of Tony Stark, complete with a coffee maker and a small pile of blankets and pillows in a corner in case I collapse from exhaustion while working."

Calming down, Danny rolled his eyes. "Y'know, excuse me for thinking this, but isn't collapsing from exhaustion a _bad_ thing?" he asked. Then he had to ignore the little voice in his head that was calling him a hypocrite.

The genius shrugged. "When you've got an idea in your head and need to build it, you don't stop. Even if it takes hundreds of trials to get it right. I think my record is... one week with only four hours of sleep, seven missed meals, and I think Pepper drugged my coffee at the end, there. I wouldn't be surprised."

Bruce crossed his arms. "It's a good thing she did. Much longer, and you probably would have collapsed while working, or started to hallucinate."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, I一 uh, I saw a friend of mine, the programmer, work on a project for a week straight before collapsing last summer. He said he was hallucinating ghosts and dragons. I'm _pretty_ sure it was only the dragons, though."

Bruce and Danny followed Tony as he led the teen down to his 'sacred place'. Danny noticed Steve run down a hallway, and return with a sketchbook and pencil. He wondered if the super soldier drew often, or if it was just a casual hobby.

Down in the workshop, Tony stood with a gleeful expression, rubbing his hands together. There was a large pile of scrap metal to one side of him, and some long, smooth tables with power tools on the other side. Everything looked sleek and futuristic, if one ignored the occasional scorch marks from something that exploded, or a failed test.

"Alright, squirt, show me what you can do. You mentioned containment devices and weapons, right?" the genius exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Danny's shoulders and steering him towards the tables. One of them was entirely a touchscreen computer, and when Tony activated it, holograms appeared around them.

He explained, "This is where I assemble my ideas first. JARVIS detects any obvious errors or whether the pieces don't fit together right, or any other simple issues. It's kind of like a 3D blueprint, you're building a model."

Danny nodded, getting an idea of how it worked. "Do you have a catalog of all the parts you have on-hand? Since I'm not really familiar with this software..." he asked, trailing off.

Tony nodded, and tapped a few things. A list popped up, and Danny scrolled through it, a big smile on his face. The only thing missing for an ectoblaster was the rather unique power cell and filter that renewed most of the ecto-energy.

"I can build you a non-functional ectoblaster." Danny paused, and added, "It's a type of weapon that works on ghosts. It can be harmless to humans, generally only covers them in goo. It's the heat you have to watch for. Ectoplasm can be superheated without melting into a liquid or gas. It's pretty much always a gel."

Tony replied, "That's awesome. You should totally build me one so I can study it and later experiment with ectoplasm-based technology. You know how unusual it is I get to experiment with a new energy source? Very unusual. This would cure my boredom for, like, 84 hours, or something."

Danny just grinned, and selected the pieces he needed to build the blaster. Bruce and Steve, who had been chatting quietly to each other, looked up to see an eager Tony and Danny half-buried in the pile of scrap metal that was actually most of the less-expensive parts the genius had on hand.

Bruce stepped over to Tony and asked, "So, what is he planning on making?"

The genius replied cheerfully, "An ectoblaster, he said."

Bruce nodded slowly. He could easily guess that it was an anti-ghost weapon, and wondered if Danny's parents taught him how, or if he learned on his own time. Tony _had_ said that Danny was very smart, and had a talent for engineering.

Arms filled with parts, Danny was grinning. He hadn't really been able to enjoy building tech yet, either because he had to hide it from his parents, or because it was important to do quickly and correctly. If he hadn't modified those weapons to suit Sam and Tucker... well, they'd have a lot more scars, that's for sure.

"Let's get building!" Tony shouted, fists in the air.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - To the guest who wanted the Avengers to meet Dan in his human form: I think that's a great idea, and it's bound to happen eventually. It just won't be soon. We're only on the second day of the week Danny's spending in New York! A lot will happen over that short week, and then we've got to deal with what's going down in Amity Park. There are big things in the works, guys.**

 **There is a panic attack in this chapter.** **Warning you guys ahead of time, so you can skim through that part if you need to. It will be marked by asterisks (*).**

 **As always, I hope you like the new chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Nine

A Mishap And Lunch

Danny's ectoblaster had gone over very well with Tony, even though it was lacking its power supply, and therefore non-functional. The genius had admitted that the overall design was very good, and could easily be adapted to other energy sources. It was lightweight, and didn't have much of a recoil, the teen had explained. He knew that would change depending on the energy type and power output, but it was a nice advantage ectoplasm-based weapons had.

Bruce had gone back to his lab around an hour after they had started, claiming he had better things to do than stand around and watch two geniuses fool around with weapons and other tech. Tony chuckled at the blush Danny had gotten from the comment when the teen realized that Bruce had called _him_ a genius.

Steve had hung around until he finished a sketch of the two of them working. It was a good drawing, and the super soldier almost wanted to show it to them. Almost. Even he got bored, though, and left to go run around New York again. He and Bruce both knew that Tony could stay holed up in his workshop for days, as mentioned before. Steve just hoped the man would have a little restraint in favor of their younger friend.

For Danny, the time the two engineers spent in Tony's workshop was nothing short of heaven. There were no ghost attacks to interrupt, and he got in four consecutive hours of building before his stomach reminded him it was lunch time.

Tony had been a huge help. When Danny couldn't explain what he did to build the ectoblaster, the genius took it apart, examined it, and reassembled it exactly the same way, explaining as he put it back together. Occasionally, he's suggest an improvement here, a little change there, and the finished product looked like it would work much better than what Danny had originally built, and only with small improvements.

When the duo left the workshop for a lunch break, they were still talking excitedly about all of the things they would like to build, or had built in the past. Tony even explained a little bit about his Iron Man suit, which led to a slightly darker topic.

"So, the power source you use for the suit is the arc reactor in your chest?" Danny asked curiously, glancing over at the glow he could see through Tony's Black Sabbath shirt.

The man nodded solemnly. "Yeah. It's bittersweet, really. Without this little baby, the shards of shrapnel in my chest would finish what they started and reach my heart. It's great that I managed to survive, but there will always be that chance that the arc reactor malfunctions and I die..." he replied, trailing off.

Danny grimaced. "Sounds horrible. But you're right, at least you managed to survive. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" he commented, laughing nervously at the end. " _What doesn't kill me all the way, anyway,"_ he thought.

Tony nodded. "Hey, you want to grab Bruce and go out for lunch? I haven't been to my favorite Italian restaurant in a while," he asked, smoothly changing the subject when Danny's stomach growled again.

The teen chuckled. "Sure. I haven't had Italian in a while, either."

"Great! I'll grab Bruce," he said, jogging over to the elevator. "Just hang out here, and I'll come get you when I find him. He's probably in his lab again. It's a good thing that he agreed to come live here, or that floor would barely ever be used."

Danny snorted, and flopped down on the couch. It had been a good day, so far.

* * *

A few minutes later, there was a loud _bang_ and someone dropped through a vent in the ceiling. Danny was startled, and leapt up into a defensive stance, fist raised protectively, facing the potential threat.

The man sprang up from the crouch he landed in and froze, wide-eyed, staring at Danny. He glanced around, and realized that the living room was otherwise empty, and muttered a curse. He held up his hands in a calming gesture, and looked around again.

"JARVIS? Is-is he supposed to be here?" he asked aloud, sounding really uncomfortable.

Somewhere in the back of Danny's mind, he was slowly realizing that this man wasn't really a threat, and was probably another Avenger, but the teen's adrenaline rush hadn't worn off yet, and the man in front of him was carrying a weapon, probably several. That didn't make him any less of a threat to Danny's instincts, and so he did _not_ drop his guard.

The A.I. promptly replied to the man's question. "Yes, Agent Barton. He is a friend of Mr. Stark's, and was told to wait in the common living room until Mr. Stark returned with Dr. Banner. He is, indeed, supposed to be here," JARVIS replied, snarking a bit with the last comment.

Barton sighed, and addressed Danny. "Okay, kid. I'm not gonna hurt you, alright? My name is Clint, what's yours?" He slowly put down his hands, hoping that the teen would relax a bit because JARVIS listened to him.

Danny didn't even register that fact. When he heard the word 'agent' in front of the man's last name, his mind went into panic mode. He had never met an agent he liked, not yet, and all of the _agents_ he had met were trying to capture him, or bully his parents.

Then, the elevator dinged, and Danny dropped into a crouch, prepared to bolt. He wasn't fully aware of his actions at this point, instincts fully taking over. He noticed the _agent_ look at the elevator with relief, and mentally prepared himself to dash down a hallway, hide long enough to change into ghost form, and escape to the skies.

"Danny!" he heard Tony exclaim. "What the hell, Legolas?!"

Tony stormed up to Clint, right past the still crouching, defensive teen. Bruce hurried over to the defensive teen and gently rubbed his back, trying to calm his down. He watched Tony gear up to yell at the sharpshooter, and sighed. Nothing could ever be simple, could it?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Clint exclaimed, stepping back. "I didn't do anything to the kid! I think I just startled him a little, and when I tried to calm him down, he just got more defensive! I swear, I didn't do anything!"

Tony narrowed his eyes in a glare. "Then why is he like that? How did you startle him?"

"I don't know! I just dropped in from the vents, like I normally do," he explained quickly, and then froze again. Some strange person randomly appearing from the ceiling could be considered frightening. "Oh."

"Yeah, _oh_." The genius continued to glare, and gestured to the bow on his back and the knife on his thigh. "And did you even consider the fact that you have two weapons in plain sight? I don't know why Danny was so scared, but it _might_ be because of that."

Bruce growled, "Stop shouting, neither of you are helping the situation." He got the tense teenager to relax against the couch, and waited for his breathing to slow down. Finally, when he deemed the boy calm enough, he asked, "Are you okay, Danny?"

Slowly, he nodded, eyes clearing a bit. Danny shook his head a little to clear it, and beat away the fuzziness always left after a panic attack brought on by his instincts. He reorganized his thoughts, took deep, calming breaths, and smiled slightly at Bruce.

"Thanks. I was... yeah." He didn't really want to explain, but he would if they asked.

Tony finally stopped glaring at Clint, and wandered over to where Danny and Bruce were sitting. "You okay, squirt? You scared Bruce, I think," he asked, hiding his own worry. Danny just grinned up at him, and shrugged.

"Nothing like a good panic attack to get the blood pumping, huh?" he joked.

The genius snorted. "Yeah, sure. Ready for lunch then?"

Bruce looked over at Clint, and saw the guilty expression on his face. "Danny, would it be alright it Clint joined us?" he asked cautiously. He watched as the teen tensed, then forcibly relaxed and gave a small shrug.

"I don't mind," the teen replied casually.

The sharpshooter's expression turned to surprise, and then back to guilt. "It's fine, I don't want to intrude," he tried to decline.

Bruce shook his head. "We were planning on introducing Danny to the whole team, anyway." He hung back to talk to the blond man as Tony and Danny made their way to the elevator, and smiled. "I know you didn't mean to do that. He'll probably warm up to you like he did to me. He just doesn't like to be startled."

Clint nodded. "Yeah. Do you think Tony will let me get close enough to apologize to the kid? I was a massive idiot. How could I forget that weapons generally scare people? Jeez."

Bruce chuckled. "Hopefully. He does seem really attached, though."

They heard a shout of excitement, and strolled into the elevator in time to hear, "You're gonna let me pick the car we go in? Awesome!" Danny was cheerful and happy once again.

* * *

Later, once they got to the restaurant, Tony decided to ask Danny what brought on the panic attack. They were sitting next to each other, so the genius took the opportunity that presented itself when Clint and Bruce were ordering to ask.

"So," Tony muttered, "what brought it on?"

Danny tensed a little, and replied, "Just being startled."

Tony shook his head. "I know that's a lie, or you would've had a panic attack this morning when I startled you. You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to, but maybe I can help. I've had my fair share after what happened to me in Afghanistan."

Letting out a sigh, the teen grimaced. "I'm not afraid of a lot of things. The constant ghost attacks in my town kinda desensitized me, but after certain events... well, I'm kinda afraid of agents. At first, I really _was_ just startled. But then your A.I. called him _Agent_ Barton, and I freaked out. Badly."

Tony nodded slowly. "So, what happened? That is, if you want to tell me. You don't have to if you don't want to, that's fine, I'm just kind of curious what a relatively normal person could be afraid of agents for. I mean, you don't have a criminal record or anything, so..."

"There's a branch of the government dedicated to hunting ghosts. They've bullied and threatened my parents and me before, they don't care about collateral damage, and I'm not just talking about destruction of property. I've taken a few hits from their ectoguns, before."

Tony's expression melted into dark anger. He may not have really been the hero type, but he did care whether or not innocent people got hurt. Maybe he'd have to hack a few systems, and threaten SHIELD into forcefully disbanding the ghost-hunting branch Danny told him about. He could understand developing an extreme fear of agents, in this case.

"Got it," he acknowledged. Then, he said, "Thanks for telling me that. I know it must be hard to talk about."

Danny just nodded, face passive. "Yeah. Thanks for listening."

When their meals arrived, the four of them fell into a comfortable silence only broken by the scrape of silverware on plates.

* * *

On the way back to the car, Clint asked Danny for a moment of his time. They slowed down and built up a little distance between themselves and the other two for privacy. Danny was nervous about being alone with the agent, but he hid it well.

Clint spoke first. He coughed, and explained, "I didn't mean to startle you, and I certainly didn't mean to cause a panic attack. I wasn't thinking, and forgot that the weapons I had were probably scaring you." He looked down at his hands, and sighed. "I'm sorry."

The teen sighed, too. "It wasn't the weapons, really. I mean, yeah, they're kind of threatening, but I live in a house where my parents answer the door with huge guns pointed in your face. It was..." he trailed off, throat tight. He couldn't say it out loud, not to the person he was irrationally scared of. It was embarrassing, and he didn't want to make Clint feel bad.

"It was... what?" the archer asked curiously.

Danny shrugged. "Ask Tony. I can't... I can't say it." He blushed a little, and ground his teeth. Ancients, he wasn't fourteen anymore! He should be able to talk about it clearly! Why was he having so much trouble?

The archer's eyes filled with understanding. "Hey, it's okay," he pressed. "There are just some things we find hard to talk about. Everyone has at least one, don't worry about it. And really, I'm sorry for scaring you earlier."

Danny nodded, still looking at the ground as they continued on towards the car. Clint slid in the back seat next to Bruce, leaving shotgun open for the teen, since he seemed to know Tony the best. With any luck, Tony would be willing to tell him what the problem was, and he could fix it before he scared the poor kid again.

The drive back was just as relaxed and comfortable as their meal had been, and the billionaire chatted with Danny about what they could build next all the way back to the tower.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N - Alright, you guys, listen up. I like Sam as a character, she's awesome, independent, strong, goth, etc., but I** _ **don't like the Danny/Sam pairing**_ **. I'm sorry, but those of you who are hoping for that? It's not gonna happen in this story. : /**

 **Thanks again to all of the people who reviewed, you guys have some awesome ideas, and it's always good to know I'm appreciated! Please enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

Defense and Dinner

The rest of the afternoon was spent in pleasant company, with Bruce occasionally checking in on the two mechanical engineers. Tony taught Danny how to build a fully functional blaster, complete with filled power cell. It wouldn't be effective against ghosts, but it could easy take out a human opponent.

"Take it, squirt. You built it, after all," Tony commanded when Danny tried to give it back.

Danny shook his head. "I don't need something like this. I'm just a teenager, isn't it dangerous to give me a functional weapon that could harm people?" He almost laughed at the irony. Technically, he was always armed. It was incredibly hard to disarm a halfa.

The genius frowned. "You're living in a city where ghost attacks are the norm, and agents have _shot at you_. Besides, if people realize your friends with most of the Avengers, you'll probably be a target. It's better if you learn to defend yourself now, so when you run into trouble later, you won't be in as much danger."

This time, Danny couldn't hold back a laugh. At Tony's glare, he explained, "My mom's a ninth dan black belt in karate, I've been raised in a ghost hunting household, _I know how to build a functional gun_ , even if it isn't a normal gun. Thanks for worrying about me, but I don't really need self-defense lessons, much less a blaster."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Is that a challenge? I'm pretty sure the type of people who'd come after a friend of mine aren't your average run-of-the-mill criminals. We're talking super villains who want collateral against us, who wouldn't bat an eye at taking hostages."

The teen sighed, knowing that Tony wouldn't take no for an answer. To be honest, the man had a point, but Danny knew he could take care of himself. "Alright, fine. If it makes you feel better, I'll keep the stupid blaster. Good?"

When Tony didn't complain, the teen picked up the weapon and fitted it on his wrist, sighing at the heavy weight of it. It was kind of similar to the wrist-rays they used on ghosts, but much more dangerous. If he acted reflexively and shot at someone, they'd get a lot more than a little bruise. He'd have to be careful with it.

"Alright, it's almost six. I should probably head back to the hotel in the next hour or two, I don't want to worry my parents," he muttered, frowning.

They headed up to the living room, and Tony asked, "Why don't you stick around for dinner? We can order pizza for everyone and watch _Harry Potter_ , or _Mean Girls_ , or something. What kind of movies do you like? What's even popular these days? I thought _Kung Fu Panda 2_ was pretty funny, to be honest."

It took a moment for Danny to reply. He hadn't actually had time to just hang out and have fun with someone in such a long time. He'd usually have to be on guard for things like ghost attacks or his parents' newest invention targeting him.

"I... guess I could," he muttered hesitantly, the idea of relaxing a foreign one.

The doors to the elevator slid open, and Tony cheerfully steered him over to the nearest seat, plopping him down and ignoring the slightly bewildered look the teen had. Bruce and Steve were nowhere to be seen, but Clint had strung up a hammock in a corner of the room near the ceiling, and was relaxing with a... comic book.

"Hey, birdbrain, you up for pizza and movie night?" Tony called, smirking.

Clint just gave the genius a thumbs-up, eyes not leaving the comic book he was absorbed in. Tony grinned even more, and strolled over to where Danny was still seated. He flopped down lengthwise across a loveseat across from the raven-haired teen.

"JARVIS, please call Steve and Bruce up to the living room. Tell 'em it's movie night. Then, call my favorite pizza place. Oh, and we should probably get two of everything; between Steve and Bruce, they can eat five or six large pizzas." Then, he turned to Danny, and asked, "Do you have any particular requests? A large appetite, maybe, or the desire for a specific non-alcoholic beverage? I'm trying to take Pepper's orders into consideration, here."

Danny shrugged. "I can probably eat two or three pizzas on my own. I like pepsi or coke, for pop. Coke is preferable, but I'll take pepsi, too." His ghost half used a lot of energy in fights, and while he could produce his own energy to a point, it usually took an extra toll on his human half, requiring the teen to eat more, or eat ectoplasm-infused food.

JARVIS took that moment to reply. "Dr. Banner and Cpt. Rogers are informed, and on their way up to the common area now. Ms. Potts is also in the area, and was already planning to stop by for dinner, or so she said when I took the liberty to inform her."

Tony chuckled, "Then we're only missing Natasha and Thor, huh? Well, not much we can do about those two. Thor's off-world, and Natasha is always busy with SHIELD." He pulled out his phone, and tapped out a quick text.

Danny watched curiously as the overexcited genius prepared for a simple group movie night, and smiled softly when his face lit up at the thought of having everyone together. The teen suspected that Tony didn't have many friends outside of Pepper and the Avengers.

"Oh, Danny," Tony hummed, "I sent a text to your parents, to let them know you were eating dinner with us. They probably won't mind, anyway."

He just rolled his eyes and grimaced. His mom would probably laugh, then chew him out later for not telling her himself. " _Well, it's done now. Not much I can do about it. Maybe they'll be able to tour the city or something,"_ he thought in resignation.

A while later, Pepper appeared from the elevator, followed by Steve. Bruce had joined Danny, Tony, and Clint quickly, not having anything in the lab he needed to finish up. Steve had been working out, and didn't really want to offend anyone's noses. A quick shower was all that was necessary to fix that problem, though.

The pizza arrived, steaming and delicious, and the group sequestered themselves on and around the couches. Tony even pulled out a couple beanbag chairs from some weird closet that no one knew existed. Pepper didn't say anything, but she didn't really need to. Her expression said it all. It was a look of pained resignation.

' _De ja poo, the feeling that you've seen this shit before.'_

* * *

Danny looked up when the elevator dinged. They were about three quarters of the way through their movie, and a good half of the pizza was gone, when the silver doors slid open to reveal a taller-than-average woman with short, red hair in a black catsuit. She had gun holsters attached to her thighs, throwing knife holsters wrapped around her wrists like bracelets, and she carried herself like a fighter. He instantly knew that she was trouble, and most likely an agent of some kind, like Clint. He tensed, ready for an altercation.

Steve had apparently also noticed her approach, and gave her a friendly smile. "Hey, Natasha. Done with work for a while?" he asked politely, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone had accompanied the spy.

She shrugged, face impassive. "Fury didn't have anything he needed me to attend to right away, so I got some time off. I should be able to hang around here for a few days, if the five-year-old doesn't mind."

"Hey! I resent that! I'm at _least_ seven!" Tony cried indignantly.

"Seven-year-old, then, though you strike me as too hyperactive for that age," she amended, giving another shrug. "Is that a yes?"

"Sure. As long as you don't piss off my new friend," the genius responded.

Natasha turned her attention to the person she had originally come there to see. The kid was muscular, though the baggy shirt and jeans hid it well from untrained eyes. He was tall, probably approaching six feet, and had short black hair spiked forwards. She wondered if it was naturally messy like that.

Daniel Fenton, age seventeen, son of two genius inventors and ghost hunters. He looked tense and uncomfortable at the slight scrutiny he was under, not that she was very surprised. He looked like the person to be overly cautious. Those blue eyes were guarded, and filled with distrust for the newest arrival.

She approached him, relaxing her stance a little to appear more open and friendly as she walked. When she reached the teen, the assassin held out a hand and offered a cheerful smile to Danny. "Natasha Romanoff, Clint's friend," she stated, waiting.

Danny hesitantly took her hand, still anxious and tense. He _knew_ she was putting up a front for him. When she had left that elevator, she had an air of seriousness. He could easily picture her holding her own in a harsh fight.

"Danny Fenton." His tone wasn't cold or disrespectful, a smooth polite baritone. Seems his voice had decided to stay lower after all. The teen could only pray for no more awkward cracking and that it wouldn't change any more.

He watched her frown a little, and mentally sighed. This would be interesting. Clint was a naturally cheerful person, relaxed and easygoing with some snarky humor thrown in, and it was easy to get used to his presence, regardless of the whole _agent_ thing. He still preferred the other three men to the archer, but he was easily tolerable.

Natasha, he could tell, was _not_ that kind of person. Her attitude before introducing herself to him was distant and apathetic, possibly even cold to the others. She wasn't _naturally_ cheerful or friendly. That was an act to make him feel more comfortable, and he had seen through it, and she knew he had. Natasha's act had not won the woman any points with him.

"Can I join you, maybe steal some pizza?" she asked softly, leaving the decision up to the teenager. _This_ won points with Danny. He hated it when adults brushed him or others off because they were younger.

He nodded, deciding to keep an eye on her. "Sure. I think there's still plenty of pizza left. It might not be hot, though," he answered, equally as quiet.

She nodded her thanks, and threw herself down on the beanbag next to Clint, almost launching him onto the floor. Tony snorted, Steve and Danny started laughing at the offended expression the archer was wearing, and Bruce and Pepper just rolled their eyes and smiled. If the assassin meant to break up the tension between her and Danny, it worked. Really well.

The rest of the movie was finished in peace, and there were only a few slices of pizza left when everyone was full. Which was only surprising because Tony had apparently ended up ordering twenty pizzas. Steve had five, Bruce had _six_ , Danny had three, Clint had two, and everyone else ate one. The only person who didn't finish a whole pizza was Pepper, and she gave most of her extra slices to Tony or Natasha.

They all slid smoothly into a game of poker to end the evening, with Tony and Clint carefully teaching the resident teenager how to play. Natasha threw in a few tips here and there, being such a good player herself, but the she knew Danny didn't really feel comfortable around her yet, and held off on invading his personal space.

 _Unlike a certain billionaire_ , who was never known for respecting the space of anyone. Aside from Natasha, of course. She would probably punch him in the face and break his nose if he tried. Thankfully, Danny had gotten used to the over-exuberant genius and his ways by the end of the second day. The physical expressiveness wasn't much different from Jack, and the way Danny's father loved to hug people, slap them on the backs, et cetera.

It was rapidly approaching ten o'clock, and Danny knew he needed to head back to the hotel before his parents started to worry. While most of the group was disappointed that he had to leave, they were mollified with promises to return the next day.

Danny didn't know whether to find it strange that everyone liked him so much, or to enjoy the new friendships that had formed within hours of meeting the other Avengers. His only human friends up to that point had been Sam, Tucker, and Valerie. Everyone at school was more concerned with popularity or just didn't want to hang out with 'that loser, Fenton'.

In the end, as Bruce accompanied him back, wanting to speak with his parents about their research, he decided to be grateful that he had managed to catch Tony's attention in the first place, and that the genius enjoyed his company enough to call him his friend.

It had been a really good day, overall.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N - Thanks again for the great reviews, everyone! Keep it up. ^u^ On another note, I'll probably slow down the updates to once every two days. I just got a lot added to my plate, and my muse is withering away with all the pressure. Sorry, but it can't be helped. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Ghosts, Ghost Portals

When Danny got back to the hotel room, he had no desire to stick around and listen to his parents go on and on about ghosts and ghost technology _again_. That was something his life could do with less of. After calling a quick goodbye to Bruce, the halfa teen retreated to his room and flopped down on the bed with a sigh.

Spending all day socializing, even if it was enjoyable, was exhausting. It was vastly different from back home, where he'd have barely any time at all to enjoy the company of his friends between ghost fights and avoiding detection.

Avoiding detection was something Danny had always had issues with. The teen wasn't a very good liar, originally, and he still wasn't all that good. He had his moments, and he could lie away small things his parents or teachers noticed, like a minor scrape or a new band-aid. He became very good at hiding pain, limps, flinches and all. The teen could easily take a hit from Dash Baxter and pretend it hurt more than it did, or less, if Dash managed to punch an injury. His body language was better at hiding things than his words, though.

Really, it was mainly that Danny didn't have creative enough excuses that were also believable. His most common excuse at school was still the old 'may I go to the bathroom'. Half the student body thought he had bladder problems. The other half just knew he was bad at lying. It was pretty obvious.

So, yes, avoiding detection was something Danny Fenton sucked at. Which was why the appearance of two government agents when he had already slipped up a couple of times was so alarming, besides the fact that he had a phobia of agents.

He didn't know who they were, he didn't know who they worked for, and he didn't know if they wanted anything specific or were just hanging around the tower because they were Avengers like Tony and Bruce and Steve. He _needed_ to know. His paranoia wouldn't let him rest until he knew he was safe.

There was one person Danny could count on for help in a situation like this. One of his two best friends, the ever-amazing hacker, Tucker Foley, would be able to find out more about the two agents. With any luck, the teen wouldn't be interrupting anything important.

"Thank the Ancients Tucker can hack so well," he grumbled, ruffling his hair. "I'm so lucky to have such good friends... now where did I put my phone?"

* * *

Bruce nodded to Danny as the teen said his farewells for the evening and disappeared to another room. He wasn't sure what to expect from the teen's parents, but he allowed himself to stay open-minded and inquisitive as they introduced themselves and their topic of study.

Danny had said they were paranormal scientists focusing on ghosts and ectoplasm-based technology. He had failed to mention how enthusiastic his parents were about the subject. The nuclear physicist was entirely unprepared for the other man's exuberant shouts about how ghosts were interesting creatures made of ectoplasm and post-human consciousness.

Danny's mother put her hand on her husband's arm to calm him down and introduced herself cheerfully. "I'm Madeline Fenton, and this is my husband, Jack, though you can call me Maddie, if you'd like. We're Danny's parents. He said you wanted to discuss our research?"

"Yeah," he agreed, giving them a slight smile, "Danny mentioned a bit about the parallel dimension, and a bit about the ghost attacks in your town. I thought it was very interesting, and as a fellow scientist, I was curious to learn more."

She smiled kindly and replied, "That's wonderful! It isn't common that someone believes us or our son right off the bat, you know. Come on in, and have a seat. Do you want any tea, coffee, water?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, thank you."

They all took a seat in the small living area. Maddie and Jack exchanged a brief look, a silent conversation that was short and to the point, and Maddie nodded. Jack grinned, and pulled out what looked like a futuristic plasma gun. Bruce had a feeling his guess wasn't far off.

"So, you wanted to know more about ghosts and the Ghost Zone, correct?"

He nodded, and she continued on. "Ghosts are commonly thought to be human souls, after the body has died, and that the souls linger for a purpose, maybe some unfinished business. This is... _partially_ true. We're still unsure how to confirm whether a ghost created from a deceased human is that human's soul or not. Research would point towards yes, but there's no factual basis, seeing as many ghosts cannot remember their human lives, if they ever had one. Jack?"

"Of course, Maddie!" her husband replied. He took up where she let off, and explained, "Over the past three years, we've learned a lot about ghosts! Apparently, not _all_ ghosts are malevolent and evil. According to our best source, most of the population of the Ghost Zone just want to be left alone. Our source, a ghost named Phantom, also explained that ghosts can have children together just like humans, and are able to build families. Interesting, huh?"

Bruce grinned and nodded. It really _was_ interesting. There was effectively another sentient race on Earth, or at least a parallel dimension connected to Earth. He wondered if he could speak to this Phantom ghost.

Maddie smiled at the other man's interest. "Obsessions are what keeps a ghost around. I believe that, if they really are souls of the dead, they could pass on if they satisfied their obsession, but they could also stick around if they chose to. As Jack said, some of them form families and have children. I'd definitely understand not wanting to leave them behind."

"So, the parallel dimension is called the Ghost Zone? How did you two learn about it?" Bruce asked, fully curious by now. He wanted to know what it was like, if it was like another world or a duplicate of Earth, or if Thor's stories of Asgard sounded similar.

Jack and Maddie both nodded. "We came up with a theory for it in college, with our friend, Vlad Masters. Other people had ideas, but nothing to go off of. Think about it this way; the Bermuda Triangle, areas where it's common for things and people to disappear, things from the future arriving in the past, or vice versa? If there was a parallel dimension running alongside ours, and the barrier was weak in certain places, what would happen? We researched these phenomena, since it seemed to occur a lot in places of high spiritual and supernatural activity, and we found a journal of someone's travels to a 'strange place' where the sky was green and the people were different, and could fly."

Jack beamed at the other man, catching the expression of understanding that appeared in his eyes. "Exactly! The person who wrote that journal fell through what's called a 'natural portal', and ended up in the Ghost Zone! From there, it was fairly easy to figure out a way to break through to the alternate dimension. The hardest part was building an artificial portal."

"Yes," Maddie agreed. "The theory was actually very simple. We had managed to get a supply of ectoplasm, and we built a proto-portal, a prototype for the artificial portal we wanted to make. There was a moment where it worked, at first. It was too bad the thing blew up in Vlad's face. That poor man."

"Yeah, poor Vladdie. Well, twenty or so years later, we completed a full-sized artificial portal to the Ghost Zone! We tried turning it on, but it didn't work. We thought there must've been something wrong in our calculations, but Danny tried to get it to work, bless his little heart. He's definitely a Fenton, that boy!" Jack boomed proudly.

Bruce chuckled at that. He was suspicious, though. How would a fourteen-year-old get his parents' invention to suddenly work? What had happened there? Was it something simple that the parents had missed because they spent too much time on the project? It was entirely possible. Sometimes people could miss the most obvious mistakes.

"So, what happened? How did your son get it to work?" he asked.

Maddie and Jack shared an uncomfortable look. She frowned, and replied, "He never told us how, actually. We've asked, of course, but he always distracts us or gives a half-answer and leaves the room before we can ask more. I think it might be because of the accident that he had with the portal... but I wouldn't know for sure."

"Accident?" Bruce asked, alarmed. Maybe his suspicions weren't unfounded.

Jack nodded, also frowning. "Yeah. Danny's friends said he'd got a bit of a shock when he turned it on. They _did_ say it wasn't anything to worry about, and Dann-o looked fine, but..." he trailed off, and his frown deepened.

"But he was very clumsy for the next month or so, and after that, his grades started dropping, and he started missing curfew more often than not. It _was_ the beginning of freshman year for him, though, so we chalked it up to academic stress. He's doing a bit better now," Maddie added, continuing what her husband had started explaining.

"That's weird. Well, I'm glad that Danny didn't get hurt worse. Thank you for telling me about all this. It's really fascinating." Bruce shook their hands, and smiled. "I might be back tomorrow to talk some more. I'm sure you have plenty of interesting ghost stories."

"Of course, Dr. Banner. You're welcome to come have a chat when Danny comes back from his visit with you and his other new friends. Just... make sure he stays safe. I'm not overly concerned about him, he can certainly handle himself, but..." Maddie replied, trailing off.

"But a mother worries. Of course, Mrs. Fenton. I'll make sure he gets back safe and sound tomorrow," Bruce agreed. With that, he and the other two adults said goodbye and he left for Stark Tower. It had been a very... intriguing conversation.

* * *

"So, you think you can do it?" Danny asked quietly, holding the phone up to his ear.

" _Of course, man. No problem,"_ Tucker replied smoothly. " _It'll be fun. I always like a challenge, when it comes to computers. I might even try to hack Stark's systems, just for the hell of it. What were the agents' names again?"_

Danny sighed in relief. "Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov. Thank you so much, Tucker. I don't know what I'd do without you," he stated sincerely. There was a relaxed laugh from the other end of the line, and he grinned.

" _Dude, you would be lost without me. Admit it, without me and Sam, you'd probably be horrible at fighting ghosts,"_ the techno geek drawled smugly.

"Yeah. Those training regiments you made for me did wonders on my aim and physical fitness. I still can't believe Sam hired a martial arts teacher just so she could teach us what she learned, those skills really came in handy." Danny chuckled.

" _Hell yeah! Aikido is great! I never knew that you could learn how to fall. If only you could use it on Dash instead of letting him beat you up."_

Danny grimaced. "It's easier to just take it, and I don't want to do anything that would give me away. Beating up Dash, even if it was just redirecting his attacks with aikido, would put too much suspicion on me."

Tucker sighed. " _I know, man. It just sucks that you have to deal with that."_

"Yeah. Thanks, Tuck. Talk to you later?" Danny asked.

" _Yep. I'll give Sam an update tomorrow. I should have the info you need by tomorrow evening, at the latest. Most government systems are crap, after all. Talk to you later, Danny."_ And with that, he ended the call.

Danny sat on his bed in the darkness, looking out his window at the night sky, ignorant of the faint green glow his eyes gave off. His time in New York had been packed to the brim with interesting and exciting things. New friends and experiences were abundant. It was the end of the second day, with five left.

In that moment, the halfa wondered how he would get by without revealing his secret to a bunch of superheroes, most of which were geniuses or good at reading people. Clockwork would intervene if it was going to end badly, though. He always did give Danny warnings to steer him in the right direction whenever a situation could turn dire.

All the ghostly teenager had to do was trust Clockwork, his instincts, and be careful.f


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N - The story is going to go pretty quickly for a few chapters, because most of it will be filler or for comedy value. Danny's got a week to get through, and nearly all of that will be spent with the Avengers (and Tony specifically, because** _ **friend**_ **). I'm not gonna list every little activity he does with them, because it'd just take too long and would probably be boring to read. Hell,** _ **this**_ **is probably boring to read. Sorry.**

 **Moving on, the story will go quickly from here, for a few chapters. Thanks, and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Not Less Than Human

Danny wasn't even aware Tony had a motorcycle until he received a text telling him to head down so he could be picked up, and made it out to the parking lot. The halfa could just _tell_ that it would be something new every morning, and just prayed that Tony would never get the idea of showing up in his Iron Man suit and _carrying_ the teen back to the tower. It would be too embarrassing for Danny to accept. He'd rather walk.

"Hey, squirt! I brought you a leather jacket and a helmet. Y'know, for protection. I don't think your parents would appreciate it if I just drove you to the tower without any safety gear." Tony held out a black helmet with a tinted, full-face visor and a black leather jacket that was obviously new, and obviously his size. Of course.

Danny knew better than to protest, and just settled for rolling his eyes. "Thanks. I take it the tinted visor is for privacy?" he asked.

The billionaire nodded, and shrugged. "People will recognize me, and probably want to know who I'm riding with, if they haven't already figured it out from when we ate at that Italian restaurant yesterday," he admitted. "We're meeting Steve, Clint, and Bruce for breakfast. Well, it's brunch now. I slept in a bit."

The teen chuckled and pulled the jacket and helmet on. "Alright. Let's head out, then."

Engine revving, the motorcycle took off onto the streets of New York City, Tony laughing happily as they went.

* * *

The duo pulled up at a classy French restaurant called 'Balthazar'. Tony turned off the bike and allowed Danny to hop off and remove his helmet. Both of them took a moment to fluff up and fix their hair, Danny's from the helmet, and Tony's from being windblown.

Steve was already relaxing against the wall outside, and nodded in greeting. "Clint and Bruce haven't shown up just yet. Do you want to go in and get a table, or wait for them?" he asked as they approached.

Tony glanced over to Danny, who shrugged, and answered, "We'll get a table. It isn't usually that busy in the mornings, but I'd rather get seated now instead of being made to wait for half an hour later. I'll just text Bruce that we're already inside."

The blond man nodded, and added, "They should be along shortly." He glanced at Danny, and smiled. "How's it going? Not tired of us yet?"

Danny laughed, grinning. "Nope. It should take a couple more days," he joked. "You guys are entertaining. Honestly, I didn't even know Tony _had_ a motorcycle. I thought you had one, and I could've expected Natasha or Clint to have one, too, but for some reason I didn't think Pepper would let Mr. Impulsive have one."

The super soldier let out a surprised laugh. "Sadly, Pepper doesn't have the time to monitor Tony's purchases. I also think that if she did, he'd be really bored..." he commented. They followed 'Mr. Impulsive' inside the restaurant.

"Probably," Danny conceded. "That also explains the secret compartment in the wall last night. The one he used to store those beanbags?"

"Yeah. And him buying you an expensive, new suit?" Steve added, poking Danny in the shoulder. They both laughed at the memory of _that_ experience. Tony definitely did what he wanted, and very few people could stop him.

The raven-haired teen threw in, "A movie night complete with twenty large pizzas?"

Tony walked back over to them, and they both adopted innocent expressions. Danny couldn't keep it up, though, and the corners of his lips twitched up before he burst out laughing. Steve quickly followed, and it left the billionaire muttering about weird friends.

Once they were all seated and waiting for the other two, the three spent their time chatting about vehicles and what they preferred to ride in (or drive).

* * *

Brunch went by very quickly. Once Bruce and Clint showed up, they had all ordered, eaten, and chatted. Tony and Steve were arguing lightly over things to do that day, with an occasional comment thrown in from the rest of the group.

It was actually mostly Tony arguing with Steve over whether or not he'd get to spirit Danny away to his workshop again to teach the teen more about engineering and inventing. The teen himself didn't mind, but Steve and Bruce both wanted to spend some more time with their new friend while they could, and Bruce was leaving the next day.

The argument ended with Clint bursting into laughter after a particularly whiny complaint from Tony, and it led into the whole table giggling. The bill was paid, and they all headed back to the tower.

Once they were all back in the tower, Bruce asked for a word with Danny. The scientist had a very strong suspicion that the teen wasn't completely normal, due to the accident with the portal, and he just wanted to make sure he was okay, and maybe give him a safe person to talk to, if the teen needed it.

"Hey, Danny? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Bruce asked quietly.

The blue-eyed teen glanced over at his friend, and gave him a small smile. "Sure."

The two of them strolled off to a more private area, so Tony or the others wouldn't get nosy and eavesdrop. Bruce wouldn't put it past them to listen in, and this just wasn't any of their business. This wasn't even _Bruce's_ business, really, but the scientist could relate.

When he closed the door, Danny asked, "So, what's up?"

Bruce grimaced, and held a finger up. "JARVIS, please cease all surveillance in this room until both of us leave. None of this conversation is to be recorded, due to privacy."

"Of course, Dr. Banner," the A.I. replied cordially.

The scientist waited a moment, and then answered Danny. "You know I spoke with your parents last night, because I was interested in their research, right?" When the teen nodded, he continued. "Well, they brought up the two artificial portals they had made, and then commented on the fact that you managed to turn their portal on."

He watched Danny's reaction. There was a flash of panic, some fear, determination, and then his mask, that Bruce hadn't even been aware of before, slipped back into place. The teen was certainly hiding _something_ , but he didn't know what.

Danny didn't say anything, just nodding for confirmation, so Bruce went on. "They also mentioned how clumsy you were after the accident, and how your school records changed. In fact, Tony mentioned that you hadn't been to a hospital for three years, when he was first telling me about you."

There was a sharp gasp, and the scientist watched Danny stumble back a few steps. He held up his hands in a peaceful gesture, eyes full of understanding. Danny now reminded him of the panic attack the teen had experienced yesterday, only slightly less defensive.

"Relax, Danny," he pressed softly, "I'm not going to do anything. I don't know what happened to you, but I can sympathize with some of what you must be going through. You know what I am, don't you? How I could-could go on a rampage and kill innocent people without a thought? I'm less scared of myself than I was, before meeting the other Avengers, but... there's still a part of me that fears someone is going to try and lock me away, or that I'll snap and hurt people. That much gamma radiation _should_ have killed me, but it didn't."

The raven-haired teen listened to what Bruce had to say. He let the underlying message wash over him, realizing that this person could probably be trusted to not do anything to him. He could _relate_ , in a way. He had heard about the Hulk. Who hadn't, at this point?

He could take a risk. There was a chance to have another person in on his secret, and it would be someone who could understand him. He wanted another friend to talk to.

It was too risky to tell him the full truth, though. "Yeah. Something happened to me. I was... inside the portal when it turned on. I can do small things now, but I'm terrified of anyone finding out about it. I just... my friends and my sister are the only people who know. It's so hard to hide it sometimes, or come up with excuses," Danny explained, omitting a lot.

Bruce nodded. "Something happened, it changed you, and now you're scared of being discovered because you're different enough to warrant research?"

Danny nodded, swallowing thickly. They were both dancing around the real fear. Research would be nothing. If they just observed him, and how he function as a whole being, that wouldn't be so bad. No, he was scared of something much worse. Experimentation. Dissection. _Vivisection_. Because he wasn't alive, it was okay. He wasn't alive. Not really.

"I... research would be the least of my problems," he admitted, grimacing.

Bruce frowned. "If you ever feel comfortable telling me what happened, I can help. I won't pressure you into telling me, though. I know it's your choice." He gripped Danny's shoulder tightly. "Just know that I'm here if you need me. Thank you for admitting that much. It's more than I expected, honestly."

The teen gave him a pained smile in return. He'd really like to trust this man, with his soft words and understanding eyes. Bruce reminded him of Clockwork. More straightforward than the old stopwatch, true, and probably more caring about people in general, but they had that calming effect on him. Danny even considered asking Sam and Tucker if they thought it was alright to tell the scientist the rest of the story.

So, when Bruce held open the door, Danny followed him out with a more honest expression of relaxed happiness than when he entered. He had someone new to rely on a bit, and day three was off to a good start. Now, hopefully, it would stay that way.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N - Another chapter, yay! There's going to be another panic attack in this chapter, but it kind of makes up the entire later half of it. This is your warning. I did edit the poll to include Steve Rogers, even though I'm not planning on having a relationship between the characters until the very last couple of chapters, if at all. Okami Princess pointed the pairing out to me, and it seemed sensible. If you want it, go vote. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Another Little Surprise

The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday passed by fairly easily. Tony had taught him a bit more about designing blueprints and using them to assemble spare parts into inventions, and had even let Danny craft some ectoplasm-based weapons for the genius. Steve had offered to go running with the teen, and the blond man had taken him on short tours around the more reputable parts of New York City during their runs. It was good for keeping in shape while he couldn't actively train.

Natasha had disappeared sometime on Wednesday, around midday, and Danny had assumed she was going to report to her boss. What Tucker had unearthed on the two agents his friend had a passing acquaintance with was nothing short of amazing. Both worked for an organization called SHIELD, and both had been recruited from a less-than-moral line of work before being offered immunity and a job by the shadow government organization.

His trust had gone up a little for Clint. They had spent a bit of time together, and made a game of target practice once the archer learned that Danny had handled guns before, even if they were fairly _unique_ guns. Danny never won, of course, but the sharpshooter had praised his ability and was surprised at the accuracy of his shots.

The teen's trust in Natasha had stayed at the level it started at, though. Non-existent and slightly suspicious. There was nothing in the information that Tucker had dug up to indicate she was aware of his alternate identity, or paying any special attention to him. All that was marked in her file was that she had been given a few days' leave. Still, Danny had felt her eyes on him on more than one occasion, and he was loathe to let his guard down around the spy-slash-assassin.

Something Danny had found amusing was how excited and cheerful Tucker had been after breaking into SHIELD's files. It had actually proven to be enough of a challenge to need to work at it for awhile. The techno geek had even skipped school to play around with their systems and work out the most discreet way to get the information Danny needed.

One thing had led to another, and Thursday morning, Tucker had called the halfa to tell him he had broken into Tony's systems for fun overnight. He also mentioned that he was pretty sure he wouldn't succeed if the older genius was actively fighting off his hacking, and that he was also pretty sure JARVIS had gotten a general location on him.

So, when Tony casually asked about it during the drive to the tower, Danny shrugged and admitted that a bored friend of his wanted to test out the strength of his systems. It was close enough to the truth. Tucker _hadn't_ been trying to get information when he broke into the Avenger's systems.

"You mean to tell me that your friend is the one who tried to break into my systems? For _fun?_ " Tony asked, wide-eyed.

Danny winced. He honestly hadn't expected a bad reaction from the man. He'd thought the genius was the type to laugh it off if nothing happened. "Uh... y-yeah. Sorry," he mumbled. His shoulders were hunched and he gazed at the ground sheepishly.

"Don't be!" the genius exclaimed, slapping him on the back. "I haven't had a challenge like that in a while. Your friend's pretty good."

The teen smiled hesitantly. "So... what've you got planned for today?"

Tony shrugged, then glanced over to the others. He hadn't really planned anything, and he didn't really want to leave the tower right then. That didn't mean there was a lack of anything to do, but they had already gamed a lot, and Steve had complained about the genius constantly holing up in the workshop with the teen, so... there went two options.

A few moments of consideration passed before JARVIS, in his infinite wisdom, offered a solution. "Sir, might I suggest showing Mr. Fenton the pool or your theater?" he commented.

Tony's eyes brightened up, and he missed Danny's panicked look. "Great idea, JARVIS! I think that'd be perfect. We can send someone to go get Danny's swimsuit from the hotel, and make a day out of it."

The teen was just relieved that Tony didn't decide to go out and buy him a new swimsuit. The one he had was a set of swim trunks and a long sleeve, close-fitting nylon shirt made by Grandma Ida. She had once overheard Danny panicking about a field trip to the local pool, in sophomore year, because of his scars. The feisty old lady had presented him with the white-and-blue swim shirt a couple days later. He had never been more grateful to Sam's grandmother.

As Danny looked around at the others, he noticed that Steve and Clint both seemed fairly content and even slightly excited with the plan for that day. With a heavy sigh, the teen resigned himself to it. Hey, maybe he'd actually have fun.

* * *

An hour later found him in a miniature locker room, changing in a bathroom stall. Danny was sure the others would give him weird looks for it, but Tony and Steve hopefully still thought he was shy about his body, due to the Armani suit incident. He _really_ didn't want to show them all the scars he had acquired.

When the the teen opened the door leading to the pool, he saw the three men already involved in a game of catch. It was a bit more... brutal... than he had expected, though. Steve and Clint weren't holding back, and Tony was stuck being the pickle in the middle. The game had an odd twist on it, where both of the blonds were deliberately spearing the poor rubber ball at the other. Occasionally, it'd catch Tony or Clint in the face, leaving red marks.

The trio was distracted from their game by Danny's laughter. Tony was left grumbling while Steve and Clint swam over to the edge of the pool. The billionaire was at a pretty big disadvantage, up against two highly trained fighters.

"Hey, Danny!" Steve greeted, shaking water out of his hair. "Want to join in?"

Clint smirked at him. "Maybe if you join Tony, he'll actually have a chance."

The raven-haired teen rolled his eyes. "Are you two tormenting him again? Steve, I thought you didn't like picking on people weaker than you?" he drawled, trying to hide his smile. He needed to be the voice of reason. Usually it was Steve, but... he had apparently decided against that, this time around.

Steve shrugged sheepishly. "Normally. Tony challenged us, though."

At hearing this, Danny shot a bewildered look at the supposed genius. "Did you seriously challenge _Steve and Clint_ when you don't have access to your suit? You _had_ to know you would lose!" Then he turned to the two blonds. "I'm sorry, I was clearly misinformed. Please, go on with your beatdown. That idiot needs some sense knocked into him."

While Steve only chuckled a bit, Clint cackled and jumped back into the water.

"Well, come on in. I'm sure Tony's gonna need some help soon, if Clint's reaction was anything to go by," the super soldier sighed, waving Danny towards the water.

They both jumped in, and a very intense water fight broke out. There was much splashing and laughter, and quite a bit of the pool water didn't actually stay _in_ the pool. Danny began to relax and just enjoy himself.

* * *

A couple hours later found all four males relaxing on lounge chairs by the one-way tinted windows and enjoying a brief respite. They had played catch, held breath-holding competitions with each other (Danny and Steve were tied), and even tried to play underwater tag.

Danny had an unfair advantage, unknown to the others, in maneuvering during flight. He had trained his flexibility with Sam and Tucker, because sometimes that was the only thing saving him from some very serious injuries. That, combined with his flight experience led to the others trying and failing to tag him. Somehow, he always managed to contort his body to escape their grasp.

As they were getting ready to go back into the water for another hour before lunch, Clint noticed the scars on his calves. Danny was honestly surprised it had taken this long for one of them to notice, or bring it up, but he supposed they had been having too much fun to take notice earlier. The teen sighed as he saw the archer's eyes widen in surprise.

"Um, Danny?" Clint asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?" He was just glad that his legs were less heavily scarred than his upper arms or torso.

The archer swallowed thickly. "How did you get those scars on your legs? That is, if you don't mind me asking," he continued, trying to provide an out for the teen. He had some scars like those. Those weren't something that happened from falling out of a tree.

Now that he had brought it up, the other two Avengers turned to stare at them in shock. Steve looked pained, and Tony's face was unreadable. Danny thought he caught a flash of anger in the genius's eyes, but he couldn't be sure.

At this point, he wondered if it'd just be easier to come out and tell them everything. From what Tucker saw, SHIELD wasn't the type of agency that'd lock him away once they discovered what he was... but he couldn't. Not yet.

So, he went with the half-truth he'd already told to Tony. "It was the G.I.W. agents I mentioned before." It wasn't really a lie, anyway. A good number of his scars _had_ come from them, once their aim started to improve. He just didn't mention the circumstances.

Tony's face darkened with anger. "So, _a few hits_ , huh?" he growled. "You only took _a few hits_ from their ectoblasters? That are supposed to do _minimal_ damage to humans? I don't suppose they apologized for that, did they? You made them sound like incompetent fools who couldn't aim. I'm thinking they're more... cold-hearted lowlife bastards."

Danny winced, and took a step back from the livid genius. "Uh, I-"

" _Don't_ defend them!" Tony snapped. "If they can do this to-to a _teenager_ , they deserve to be in prison! This shouldn't happen! Ever! They're supposed to be government officials, but they're obviously corrupt to the point of no return."

Steve also glared, but not at Danny. He just gritted his teeth and glared out the windows. Tony was right, if those people could give a kid bad enough injuries to scar like that, they should have been put in prison the first time it happened.

Clint was wide-eyed in shock and understanding. He knew Danny had to be lying about some of it, because not all those scars visible could have come from the ectoguns Danny could build, but he didn't feel like calling the teen on it. He understood why the raven-haired teen was so afraid when they first met, and he had talked to JARVIS.

"You're afraid of agents," he muttered. "Danny, I swear, I'm not like those guys!"

The teen shot him a pained smile. "I know. Sorry."

The super soldier took a step towards him. "Are those the worst of them?" he asked quietly.

Danny's eyes filled with panic and fear. "Y-yeah, totally. I've only got a couple on my arms."

Tony called his bluff, though. "Sure. Just like you only took a _few hits_. Danny, you haven't been to a hospital in _three years_. You need to get your old injuries checked out. They could be seriously bad for your health, you might have damage you didn't know about."

The teen froze. He felt his heart stop, and his body grow cold as his instincts tried to take over and help him escape. " _Nonononono,_ " he whispered, taking harsh, shuddery breaths. When Tony took another step towards him, he shot off for the locker room at speeds nearly too fast for a human, only barely managing to limit himself.

As soon as he was in the locker room, he shot off towards the elevator and rode it up a few floors. Hopping off, he phased his way through the walls until he wasn't sure where he was anymore. He had found a place to hide, and he curled up in a ball.

The room he had stopped in was more like a closet. It was barely big enough to fit him at his full height, and a foot wider than his body. Danny pressed himself into the corner and focused on slowing his breath and calming down.

He was still in his damp swimsuit, not that the cold mattered to him, but he didn't have his phone with him. He couldn't call Sam and Tucker for reassurance, or Jazz to talk him through it. Bruce wasn't there to calm him down this time around, either. He was well and truly alone during a panic attack for the first time.

After a little while, and a lot of time spent thinking about his friends and family, he managed to mostly calm down. The darkness of the closet, lit only by the green glow of his eyes, was soothing. The quiet wrapped around him in comfort. He felt safer, now.

Danny spent another fifteen minutes in the silence and darkness, getting his bearing and trying to figure out a good excuse. Oh, how he wished Bruce didn't have to leave for work. He could have used that calm, level-headed scientist right about then.

He stood up, careful of where the walls were, and tried to find a door handle. When he didn't, he let out a heavy sigh. There was no way out without phasing through the wall, and he no longer knew where the three men were. It wasn't safe. He'd have to call for help.

" _This day is turning out nicely,"_ he thought sarcastically.

* * *

When Danny disappeared into the locker room, Tony wanted to rush after the frightened teen. He had taken a few strides towards the exit before the captain managed to pull him back. Steve and Clint both wanted to give the poor kid space, and they all knew that Danny had just needed to get away from what he perceived as a threat.

"Tony, you need to stop and think," Steve pressed, a hand wrapped firmly around the genius's arm. "Danny ran away when you mentioned him needing to go to a hospital. He felt threatened by you. Chasing after him isn't going to help."

The genius let out a cry of frustration. "Then what will?!" He threw up his arms and started to pace. "You said he felt threatened by me. Us, probably. Does he need to be alone, then? Will that fix it?"

Clint sighed. "Last time, Bruce was able to calm him down, remember? I backed off, and we stopped arguing, and Bruce brought him out of it," he commented, trying to help. "Since he isn't here, maybe being alone will help Danny feel safe again?"

Steve nodded slowly. "It sounds probable. Let's just get changed and wait in the living room. If he doesn't show up in half an hour, we can go look for him. I don't think it'd be a good idea to have JARVIS locate him."

Tony grimaced. "Probably not. Fine, we can do that. But _only_ half an hour."

With that, the trio left the pool to get changed and await their youngest friend's appearance.

* * *

"It's been half an hour. Can we go look for him now?"

Clint and Steve both sighed heavily. An agitated Tony was not one they wanted to be around ever again. Even anger directed at them was preferable to this anxious mess of a chatterbox. He _would not stop talking_ , and they both had the beginnings of a migraine.

" _Yes_ , Tony, we can go look for him. Why don't we split up to cover different floors? We can work our way up from the pool floor, I don't think he would've gone far before finding a place to hide. He was in too much of a panic to wait," Steve explained, watching as the genius jumped up and ran to the elevator.

"Great, fine, let's _go_ ," Tony replied, tapping his foot.

The three of them had searched the three floors above the pool area, and came up with nothing. None of them had even seen any evidence of a damp swimsuit or footprints in any carpet, so they all reconvened on the fourth floor up from the pool.

"So, do we want to keep searching individually?" Clint asked quietly.

Tony shrugged and walked off, leaving the others to decide if they wanted to follow or not. Steve did, and Clint eventually just hopped in the elevator and moved up a floor. He thought that the super soldier probably just planned to calm Tony down a bit.

Steve had been following the genius for a couple minutes, looking around for hiding spots with a teenager in them, when he heard it. There was a quiet " _hello?"_ coming from further down the main hall, and he tapped Tony on the shoulder.

"I hear someone. It sounds like Danny," he muttered quietly.

The duo carefully crept down the long hallway, listening to the muffled calls for attention. They reached the spot where it was coming from, and there was nothing but wall. Steve turned to head back, but he caught Tony's surprised expression.

"Danny? Are you in there?" the genius called.

A muffled, but strong reply came, "Yes! Please let me out!"

Still bewildered, Tony tapped a panel that blended in with the rest of the wall and punched in a long password. The section of wall slid open, and out tumbled the very teen they were looking for for the past twenty minutes.

Steve and Tony stared down at the boy, open-mouthed. "Wha-how-why-"

Danny looked up at the two of them, upside down and grinning sheepishly. "Um... hi?"

Tony just blinked, and exclaimed, "How the hell did you even-?! That closet was password protected! How did you even _get in there?!_ That shouldn't be possible, you said you weren't a hacker!"

"..." Steve was still staring, open-mouthed at Danny. He tried to say something, but the words just didn't come out. Danny could almost _see_ the question marks above his head. The poor man just didn't really understand.

"... I got lost?" Danny finally commented, cutting off the continuing rant Tony had been going on. He got two equally confused and stern looks turned in his direction. So much for his brilliantly planned excuses.

This was going to be a long day. It wasn't even noon yet.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - Alright, I feel the need to make it clear** _ **why**_ **Danny didn't get out of the closet the same way he got** _ **in**_ **it. First off, he was more than a little confused and dazed. He also wasn't thinking clearly - a panic attack will do that to you. He was thinking clearly just enough to realize he didn't know where the others were, but not enough to remember he could go intangible** _ **and**_ **invisible. Got it? Great! ^u^**

 **Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, there are so many of them and they make me so happy. You all raise amazing points. Hope you enjoy this chapter like you did the rest (or I assume you did because you're still reading).**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

Secrets Kept

Back up in the living room, after getting changed into normal clothes, Danny was being pinned with three stares. No matter how much Tony had pestered him, he refused to explain how he had gotten into the secret password-protected closet. All three men had avoided bringing up the earlier subject of Danny's scars and the lack of hospital trips, but it was hanging heavily over their heads, anyway.

"Look," Danny said, finally, "I'm not going to tell you anything else. This is my secret to keep, and no matter how close we've gotten over the past few days, it doesn't affect you, so I'm within my rights to not tell you."

Surprisingly enough, Steve was the first one to speak after that. "Your scars are honestly from those agents you mentioned before? You weren't lying to us to hide something?" he asked, face full of sincere and open concern.

Danny shrugged. "Some of my scars are from other things, but I didn't lie about getting those from G.I.W. agents. They're pretty much the entire reason I have a phobia of government agents," he admitted.

Tony asked, "Can I get them disbanded? Or arrested? Or financially ruined?"

The teen chuckled. "Sure. It would certainly help me and my parents out. Any of the three would be great, to be honest," he answered, giving the genius a small smile.

His reply was a great, big, evil grin from the genius. Clint shuddered in anticipation. He knew Tony would probably make the agency's takedown as public as possible, or go through SHIELD to destroy them so completely and utterly that they would never be able to recover.

In the interest of turning the conversation away from the annihilation of a government agency, Clint asked, "So, you said you had scars from other things. What were they?"

The teen merely shook his head. "I'm not going into that. Again, none of your business. Maybe one day, I'll tell you, but right now... it's going to stay a secret." He turned to look out the windows, and sighed. He was _exhausted._

Steve stood up, and sat next to the teen. When Danny glanced at him, he smiled warmly and reassuringly at him. "You're right, Danny. It isn't our business. I guess we just got nosy because we were concerned about you. I don't think any of us want you hurt, and I can't speak for the others, but I would fight to prevent that."

"Ditto, squirt. I don't have many friends, and... well, you get the idea," Tony chimed in. He had his arms crossed over his chest defiantly, as if to say ' _so just try me'_. He nodded to Steve in agreement of his statement.

Clint grinned. "You're a good kid, Danny. I may not be as attached to you as they are, but Steve's right. I wouldn't want to see you hurt." He grimaced, and added, "Heck, I still feel bad about scaring you so much when we first met."

The raven-haired teen swallowed thickly, choked up with emotion. He hadn't really expected this, if he were to be honest. He just thought Tony was fond of him enough to call him a friend, not that he _really mattered_ to these people. And to think he would probably never see them again after he went home on Saturday...

"Thanks," he breathed, smiling. The other three nodded in acknowledgement, and they all settled in to watch television together to relax.

* * *

Lunch was a feast of popcorn and candy bars, with soda shared around. Not terribly healthy, but it was fun, so the four of them rolled with it. The whole thing had a kind of 'sleepover' air to it, and Danny chuckled at the thought of three grown men having a sleepover. Oddly enough, it wasn't that weird of a thought when applied to the trio he was with. All of them were laid back enough for it.

They were just about to get into another movie when Danny's phone rang. He checked the caller ID, and said, "I'm going to have to take this. Be right back." Sam normally didn't call him when he was away unless it was important.

Tapping the button to accept the call, he answered, "Danny here."

" _Hey, Danny,"_ Sam exclaimed. " _Listen, something's going on in the Ghost Zone, and we can't really handle it alone. I don't think it'll spill into our world anytime soon, but Clockwork's sent Dan to get you, so he should show up there soon."_

Danny groaned softly. "Thanks for the heads up. I was gonna talk to you and Tucker about what happened today later tonight, but I guess I'll be seeing you sooner than that. I just don't know how I'm gonna explain this... but I'll manage. Thanks, again."

" _No problem, ghost boy,"_ she replied warmly. " _See you when you get back."_

"Bye." He locked his phone and tucked it back in his pocket. He could always escape the tower early and not have to deal with the others meeting Dan, but knowing that headache, the ghost would just show up there _anyway_. He might as well make the most of the hour or so he had left with the others.

Tony glanced up at Danny, frowning at the grimace he wore. "What's up, squirt?"

"Something's come up back home," he answered, shrugging. "A cousin of sorts will be coming to get me in an hour or two. I can hang around until then, but it can't be avoided." No use making up some dumb excuse that none of them would believe.

Steve also frowned at that. "Do you need any help? Is it something with the G.I.W.?"

Danny let out a short laugh, and replied, "Oh, Ancients, I hope not. No, I don't think it is. My friend didn't sound panicked enough for that, and they probably wouldn't need _me_ to solve a problem as simple as them."

None of the others felt it necessary to point out the odd swear Danny had used, and simply filed it with the mountain of other questions they had for the teen. It didn't really provide any insight into the giant mystery that was Danny Fenton at that point, anyway.

"Well, that's good," Steve commented, smiling. "We can probably finish the movie, if we start now." He picked up the remote and hit play, passing the giant popcorn bowl over to the teen and catching the chocolate bar that Clint tossed at him.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Make the most of the time we have left, right?" he reasoned. The three nodded their agreement, and they all settled in to watch the movie.

* * *

The movie was almost finished when JARVIS interrupted. "Sirs, there is a Dan here to see Mr. Fenton. He did not specify beyond that. Shall I send him up?"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, we're almost done with the movie. He can hang out until it's over."

Danny laughed quietly to himself. Tony had no idea what he was getting into, but far be it from him to prevent Dan from having non-destructive fun. He just hoped they wouldn't get into a fight or something. Or that they'd notice just how similar the two of them were.

When the elevator doors opened and a tall man strolled confidently out, Danny hid his ghost sense by pretending to yawn and cover his mouth. Then, he waved to his "cousin" without taking his eyes off the TV.

"Hey, Dan," he called.

The tall, buff man wandered over and leaned over the couch next to his younger self. "So, you've been hanging out with the local heroes, huh?" he asked, a grin on his face and smugness in his voice.

Danny rolled his eyes and leaned his head back. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

And indeed, Dan chuckled deeply. "Your voice changed. You sound like me," he drawled. "So, aren't you gonna introduce me to your friends?"

The teen sighed. "The movie's almost done, so sit down. You can torment everyone _after_ it's finished," he muttered, giving the man's shoulder a shove. Dan shrugged and hopped the couch to sit next to the halfa.

When the movie was finally over, he was leaning against Danny with his arm thrown around the teen. As someone who loved to mess with people's heads, faking a relationship with his "cousin" was always a fun way to screw around with everyone's minds.

"Alright, Dan," Danny snapped, "enough." He hopped up off the couch, straightening his shirt out and glaring at the raven-haired man. "Did that old stopwatch _want_ you to come to the tower? For some reason, I can't really see that happening."

The ghost just shrugged. "If he really wanted me not to, he would've told me, or sent your other cousin. By the way, she's doing well. Cujo's really taken a liking to her," he replied. Danielle had been staying in the Far Frozen and Clockwork's lair on a regular basis for the past couple of days, and he'd gotten a chance to say hi to her once or twice.

Danny nodded, grinning. "That's great. Oh, so you seem to already know these people are the local heroes, right? Well, meet Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Clint Barton. Iron Man, Captain America, and Hawkeye, respectively."

"Nice to meet you three. Been taking care of my cousin while he's been in town?" the man asked, voice deep and holding a hint of warning. His grin was less like the open, warm one Danny wore around them and more like what they'd expect Loki to wear.

Clint instantly didn't like this man. His physique was different, but he held the same dangerous, mischievous air that the trickster god had. He would be polite for Danny's sake, but he wouldn't be able to be honestly _nice_ to this man.

Tony grinned back, his smile a little less dangerous than Dan's. "Of course. He's probably safer here than he is back home, to tell the truth," he replied.

Dan laughed, "Yeah, pretty much. Still, can't help but worry about the little guy."

Danny rolled his eyes and snapped, "Hey, I'm almost as tall as you now! Besides, you worrying about me? Funny, try again."

"I never said _I_ worried about you. That's all Sam and Tucker," he drawled.

Steve frowned. "You don't worry about your cousin?"

Dan chuckled at that. "Oh, I don't need to. He can take care of himself. His friends have just gotten in the habit of worrying, what with the ever-common ghost attacks and such. But, we really should be going soon. This one's still gotta tell his parents he'll be going home early."

Danny sighed. "At least they're probably still on lunch break. I can call them on the way over to the hotel. They're probably going to be annoyed at me."

He stepped forward, and hesitated. What was really appropriate in this situation? Handshakes, maybe? He grimaced, and mentally shrugged. He was still really awkward in social situations.

"Well, maybe I'll see you guys around. If you're ever in Minnesota, feel free to drop by," Danny commented, smiling sadly. They'd probably never see each other again.

Steve nodded. "Same thing with New York. Stop by, and Tony will probably throw you a party. He does things like that."

Tony threw them his publicity grin, and raised a glass towards them. "Always. Have fun back home, squirt. I might even visit sometime. I'll probably have to if I want to get rid of the G.I.W., y'know, for evidence and stuff."

With that, Danny departed. He and Dan had things to do and places to be, after all.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N - Sorry both of these last two chapters were a bit short, but there isn't much going on right now. Just building suspense, y'know? That actually wasn't my original intention, but it worked out very nicely.**

 **... there are newer reviews that FFN won't let me see. ;-; I'm sorry if one of these is yours, especially if they require a response of some type. I really do want to read my awesome reviews. It's not me! I swear! Hopefully it'll be solved, soon.**

 **On another note, please enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Behind The Scenes

Back at SHIELD headquarters, Nick Fury was reading over three extensive reports that were undeniably linked. Wednesday had seen a break-in and sensitive information uncovered by a certain hacker they hadn't even considered a risk. Until now.

SHIELD knew about Tucker Foley before, as they had a file on everyone they viewed as potential recruits. Between the ghost hunting the boy had been doing and the incredible skill he manipulated technology with, their organization considered him a possible asset. That he was friends with the youngest Fenton and associated with Phantom were only bonuses. No one had expected him to hack into their system to retrieve sensitive information.

That had caused a very large headache, and Fury had to tell Romanov that her file had been compromised, when she reported in to him about Fenton. The teen was almost more trouble than he was worth. If he wasn't involved with Fenton and Phantom so deeply, they would've just had him punished appropriately for his transgressions, or hired on as a trainee. As it was, neither of those were options at the moment.

Then, there was the issue with Fenton, and his relationship with the Avengers team, minus Thor. Natasha had ascertained that he was indeed acquainted with them through Stark, merely by chance. She had also explained that he was very uncomfortable and guarded around her and Clint, but tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Fenton seemed to be a good person in general, and was actually able to tolerate Stark's incessant chatter. Impressive.

For the moment, Fury was willing to view Phantom as a separate entity from Fenton, despite the building evidence. It didn't change much in his plans for the teen or the ghost, and he still didn't have any proof. Phantom was already being considered for an addition to the Avengers team, and Fenton would make a good addition to SHIELD with his engineering skill.

So, the three files giving him a massive headache were Phantom's, Fenton's, and Foley's. The hacker teen was a security risk to them. Fenton was too close to the Avengers to not be involved with SHIELD in some way, at this point. Phantom had the potential to become another member of the Avengers.

If only everything were simpler.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natasha was having a chat with Agent Coulson. She knew Clint hadn't really paid attention to all of the possible Avengers recruits, especially since he had been... out of commission... for a while during the beginning of the whole Loki fiasco. More often than not, the archer left potential threats and allies up to his handler, Coulson, to deal with unless they pertained to whatever his current mission was. Which meant that the calm, unflappable agent had a better idea of what her friend was getting into by befriending Daniel Fenton.

Her mission being temporarily suspended due to the lack of a decision on Fury's part, the impressive assassin knew she had plenty of time to hang around and _chat_ , for lack of a better term.

"Natasha, what brings you to my little corner of H.Q.?" Coulson greeted, giving her one of his typical calm smiles.

She frowned. "I'm pretty sure you know," she drawled. "Aren't you concerned about Clint's new relationship? It could prove dangerous for one or both parties. You know more about what's going on in Amity Park than even I do, I'm sure."

He inclined his head, and stood. "Yes, but I'm hardly going to stop him from making friends with a young man whose heart is in the right place. I think that the benefits outweigh the possible drawbacks of it."

The red-headed woman sighed, and asked, "So, Director Fury and I are the only ones who are actually concerned about the Avengers associating with this kid?" She paused, thinking. "Have you heard the Director's theory about Phantom?"

Coulson let out a soft chuckle. He grinned. "Who involved in this mess hasn't? Remember, I was the agent he sent out to meet most of the Avengers in the first place. The Phantom-Fenton theory isn't new to me."

"Of course not, how could I forget that?" she bit back sarcastically, accompanied with an eye roll. She smirked, and added, "The kid's got the muscles and stance to back it up. Not a well-trained fighter, but an experienced one. He looks like he could do some damage, if provoked. I don't think he's one to fight if it isn't necessary, though."

"Then what's the issue?" the man asked curiously. "If Fenton is Phantom, he can take care of himself, and is already fighting with similar morals to guide him. If not, well, if you're right, he can take care of himself should the need arise."

Natasha glared. "It's just... something about this whole situation makes me uncomfortable."

That comment made Coulson actually laugh a bit. He replied, "Maybe it's the fact that there's an enemy out there you can't always hit."

Agent Coulson's laughter followed the grumbling assassin down the hall as she left.

* * *

In an undisclosed location, elsewhere in the states, Bruce wondered. He wondered about Danny's parents, and whether they had been clued in to their son's overly odd behavior due to his curious questions. He wondered how well Danny was getting on with the Clint and Natasha in his absence, and whether he had slipped up again in front of the others. He wondered about what Danny's secret could possibly be, that would lead him to be so fearful and panicked.

The scientist had thought about these things at length while doing the almost mindless work SHIELD had assigned him. The things they had him assessing were so easy to him now that he found himself with plenty of time to wonder and hypothesize about his newest friend's worrying secret.

He had the feeling Danny would be okay in the end, though. The teenager was tough, and he had dealt with whatever it was for nearly three years, apparently. Yes, Danny would be fine.

* * *

Sam and Tucker were worried about Danny, and whatever was going on in the Ghost Zone that Dan couldn't or wouldn't handle. Truth be told, they had been completely fine during their friend's short absence. Ghosts hadn't really shown themselves, and the few that did were either ones they fought on a nearly-weekly basis or very weak. Dan didn't even need to get involved, aside from providing his younger self some peace of mind.

At first, Sam and Tucker had been thrilled about their friend being dragged off to New York and forced to relax a bit. Danny deserved a vacation, and they all knew he hadn't had one in forever... or at least, it felt that way. Even meeting Tony Stark seemed like a purely positive thing when the halfa had told them about his first day there.

Things had just slowly gone downhill from there for the teenager. Sam was a little annoyed at how much he had been giving away to other people, even if it was all by accident. Tucker was just worried. He knew Danny was stressing about it just as much as they were, and getting angry at their friend wouldn't help things. So, he and Sam continued to support him as much as they could from hundreds of miles away.

After Danny told them about his panic attack, Sam had honestly considered calling Jazz home from college. Since the teen's parents didn't know his secret, they didn't know about his panic attacks, either, and he had never gotten the chance to see a real therapist. His older sister was a genius, though. She had taken on that role to help her little brother whenever she returned home for a visit, or even over the phone on occasion.

Then everything had come to a head when Tucker was asked to find information on two agents who happened to be part of the biggest shadow government organization he had ever heard of. To be fair, he didn't actually _know_ of any others, but even in fiction or urban legends, most shadow governments didn't have reach as far as SHIELD did. _And_ they were totally legitimate, which was the scary part.

So, both best friends had been greatly relieved when Dan came back from a visit to the Ghost Zone and announced he would be retrieving Danny early from his vacation. Their friend was coming home, hopefully no worse for wear.

Now, all they had to do was wait.

* * *

A very old ghost sat and watched the many viewscreens he had set up around his lair. He chuckled quietly to himself as he watched all the various players fall into line, each and every one slowly moving towards the most favorable outcome for both worlds.

The soft ticking of many clocks, all in sync, filled the air as the tense silence stretched on. The timeless ghost had no doubt that his ward would make the right decision when the time came, but he felt a slight weight in his chest at the thought of what he needed to tell the young halfa. The events surrounding Daniel's existence were as foggy as ever, but some things remained clear from the moment the portal accident failed to completely take the young boy's life, and would always remain as such.

The master of time watched on in the quiet darkness with a heavy sigh.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N - I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to be nearly two days late! Was really busy over the weekend, and I got so anxious over not posting a new chapter because this was nowhere near complete, that I just kept putting it off and** _ **oh god I'm so stressed right now.**_ **Please, accept my apologies, and I hope you'll be understanding if this ever happens again, I'm horrible at sticking to any kind of schedule. Sorry that it's a bit short, too.**

 **Please, enjoy my terrible self's late chapter. ;-;**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

Travel

On the ground level, Happy was waiting with a car to take Dan and Danny back to the hotel the Fentons had been staying at. Dan had initially planned on coercing his younger self into just flying back, but this was _much_ more convenient and comfortable.

Danny, however, was surprised. "Happy? Did Tony send you to take us back?"

The chauffeur nodded and smiled slightly. "Mr. Stark alerted me to your departure, yes."

"You really don't need to, it must be a hassle," the teen protested.

Dan crossed his arms and glared at his "cousin". He commented, "If Stark wants us to use a service he is paying for, it'd be rude not to. Besides, it looks like _Happy_ , here, is a bit bored. I'm sure he wants something to do. Right, Happy?"

Happy laughed a bit, and answered, "It is rare that I actually get to _drive_ anyone somewhere. Mr. Stark prefers to be behind the wheel, if you remember, sir." He was hired by Tony to be a chauffeur, but he mostly drove the car to places after the billionaire had arrived or was departing. He was a bit bored, if he was honest.

Danny punched the raven-haired man in the shoulder. "Like you ever cared about being rude or not," he muttered sarcastically. "Alright, we'll let Happy drive us back to the hotel. It'll give me time to call my parents. Good?"

Both men grinned at him, and the teen had a distinct feeling he had just been manipulated several times over without putting up any resistance. Or ganged up upon. Either worked, he wasn't choosy.

Dan herded him towards the waiting vehicle, and unceremoniously shoved him in the back seat. Danny thought he heard a laugh from Happy, but he couldn't be sure. It wouldn't really surprise him if he had.

Once they were all settled and on the road, Danny pulled out his phone and shot off a quick text to his mother. He wasn't sure whether they'd still be on lunch break or not, and he didn't want to accidentally interrupt their lecture.

After a positive reply, he pressed call and held the phone up to speak. "Hey, Mom."

" _Hi, sweetie. Is something the matter?"_ she answered, worry in her voice.

The teen chuckled, and grinned. "No, Mom. Something's just come up back home in Amity Park, I'm going to be heading back early," he replied reassuringly.

" _Something back home is wrong? Do your father and I need to come?"_

"No," he hastily snapped. "No, it's nothing like that. Uh, Sam got sick, and I need to go see her. Nothing life-threatening, but she's pretty out of it, and apparently asking for me and Tucker. Don't worry about transportation, either, it's been covered."

He heard his mom sigh. " _Alright, sweetie, if you're sure... oh, we just didn't get to do anything together! Your father and I are always busy with lectures during the day, and you're hanging out with your new friends... I hoped we could have some family time. Oh well."_

Danny also sighed. "Sorry about that, Mom. Maybe next time."

" _I love you, Danny. Stay safe, and remember to call if you need any help."_

"Of course, Mom. Love you, too. Bye," he responded, and quietly hung up the call. Danny looked over to see a somber expression on his future self's face. He wished Dan was able to reacquaint himself with their parents, but it wasn't possible as long as he kept the fact that he was Phantom a secret. The teen placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Ready to head home?" he asked calmly.

"Always," came Dan's low response.

* * *

After Danny had left with his "cousin", Steve, Clint, and Tony had sat in the living room in silence, considering everything that had been revealed to them. The three Avengers all knew and could admit that they had become attached to the teenager during his short stay, and knowing that there was something going on that required him to go home didn't ease their worries any. Just looking at those scars revealed by the swim trunks had made them all uneasy. The fact that the teen had another panic attack hadn't helped, either.

Tony let out a long, heavy sigh. He wished Pepper was there. She would probably know what to do about everything. He also wondered where to start on disbanding the Guys In White, that idiot agency that was responsible for one of Danny's biggest fears, apparently.

Steve coughed a little, and asked, "So, is anyone gonna comment on how similar those 'cousins' looked?" The super soldier thought it strange that the raven-haired Fentons both had the exact same voice, skin tone, hair color, and facial structure. If 'Dan' wasn't so much older than Danny, he would've assumed they were twins.

"It was weird," Tony obliged, making his comment. His mind was too busy to really contribute much.

Clint shrugged. "Genetics are weird like that, sometimes," he added. "I mean, look at me. My sight is almost a mutant power, but I don't have the X-gene. I just happened to win the genetic lottery when it came to vision."

The Captain realized he had an entirely valid point. While Clint was at one end of the genetic luck scale, he had initially been at the other end, before the super serum. Asthma, heart conditions, weak constitution, and a myriad of other things had affected him before he became known as the 'First Avenger'.

"Still," he argued, "Danny said they were cousins. I'd get it if they were siblings, but cousins? It seems a little far-fetched, honestly. The only real differences between the two were ages and voice inflections. Dan tended to drawl and use sarcasm a bit more."

Tony snorted. "I didn't realize you were so observant, Capsicle. Got a little crush on tall, dark, and mysterious?" he asked, taunting the muscular man.

Steve rolled his eyes, ignoring Clint's surprised laugh. "Ha ha, very funny. No, I just think it's odd, and I've spend enough time around Danny this past week to notice the differences. I'd say you should've noticed, too, but we all know your information comes from JARVIS."

"Hey!" the genius protested.

"Oh, you two leave each other alone," came a sharp voice. The elevator closed behind Pepper, her hands on her hips, face set in a disapproving scowl. "Captain, I expected better from you. I already know not to expect much from our resident super-genius, though."

"Thank you for the ego-boost, I think," aforementioned super-genius muttered in confusion, "but really, insults, Pepper? You can totally expect more from me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Tony, your maturity usually hovers around that of a hyper five-year-old. Sometimes, you even make it up to six!" the woman replied cheerfully.

"I resent that! I'm _at least_ seven at all times! The Capsicle just brings me _down_ to five when I'm around him." He crossed his arms, glaring at the super soldier. Really, he was usually better than that. There was just something about Steve that made him want to argue everything with the man. Not very helpful between teammates, but whatever.

Clint just reached over and lightly smacked him upside the head. "Not what we're worrying about right now, tin can. Pepper, Danny just left. Something came up, and he had to go home early. After everything we've learned about the kid over the week, we're all pretty worried about what the problem could be."

The red-headed woman's shoulders slumped a little, and she let her hands slip from her hips to rest at her sides. Joining them on the couches surrounding the TV, she asked, "What did you find out to make you so worried?"

Steve, Tony, and Clint all glanced at each other. "He's got a lot of pretty bad scars," Tony commented, suddenly finding the window very interesting.

"Panic attacks aren't really unusual, it seems," Steve added. "He had another one just a little while ago."

Clint shrugged, and grimaced. "The Guys In White don't care about people, just eliminating their targets, which are supposed to be ghosts. A lot of Danny's scars come from them, or accidents caused by them."

Pepper let out a shaky breath, and smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles out of her skirt. "It looks like Danny has quite a few concerning secrets... Tony, do you remember the dinner party where you introduced us?"

The genius nodded slowly, and she continued, "Well, he hinted that Mr. Masters had powers of some kind, and that they used to be less than friendly. In fact, he used the word 'enemies' to describe their past relationship."

All three men exchanged alarmed looks. Was Masters a villain? But he and Danny were friendly, now... had they fought? Did _Danny_ have powers? Was his hint about Masters having powers true? Whatever the teen had to return home take care of had to be something to do with some of the secrets he had been holding close.

"You know..." Tony trailed off, pausing to consider his options. "I think it might be a good idea to show up for a surprise visit. Just in case."

Clint nodded seriously, picking up his bow from its spot against the wall. Steve's face was grim and he stood, pulling on his leather jacket. Pepper nodded in agreement and pulled out her phone to reschedule meetings for the next two days, just to be sure she wouldn't miss anything important.

Tony thought about calling Natasha and Bruce. He didn't have any intention of waiting for Thor, since the god wasn't expected until the next week. Natasha, though... Danny had never been at ease around the assassin. It would probably be for the best if he didn't call her up.

Bruce, while Tony was sure the teen would appreciate his presence, was busy with work from SHIELD. The scientist most likely couldn't get away, but he would call and leave him a message, anyway. The billionaire was pretty sure he was on the West Coast, somewhere. It wouldn't be too out of the way for SHIELD to drop him off in Minnesota instead of taking him all the way back to New York.

Now that they had a plan, they left to get ready. Everyone wanted to be prepared in case something went wrong and they had to fight, after all. Danny was one of their own, now, and they protected their own.


	17. Author's Note -

**Author's Note - 12/9/2016**

(Sorry about the glitch.)

 **This story is being suspended by myself, and it has been adopted by TheSilentFury.**

 **I'm sorry I couldn't continue it, but the stress of school, plus my depression and general anxiety is putting too much on my plate right now, and it's nearly impossible for me to work on this fan fiction any longer. I really intended to finish this story when I began it, but I let myself slow down as my motivation waned, and then writer's block kicked in.**

 **TheSilentFury tells me that their writing is going well, and will probably post some of it over winter break, so just wait a bit longer. I apologize for the delay.**

 **Again, I'm very disappointed that I can't do more, and thank you for your patience and understanding.**

 **~Akaiyuki-Tenshi~**


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